Thompson Rawls

On June 9, 2024, Thompson T. Rawls II (“Tom”) died unexpectedly of a heart attack at his cherished vacation home in Lake Oconee, Georgia. Born on November 1, 1951, to Joan and Thompson Rawls, Tom grew up in Pompano Beach, Florida with his two sisters, Nancy Baxter and Gayle Smith, and younger brother, Jon Rawls.

Tom graduated from Georgia Tech in 1973 and was a devoted Yellow Jacket football season ticket holder for nearly 30 years. After college, Tom attended Emory University School of Law and earned his J.D. in 1979. Emory was the place where he met the woman he would marry and love unconditionally for the rest of his life, Olga Goizueta. They built a life together in Atlanta where he worked with dedication for over 30 years as in-house counsel for BellSouth Corporation and AT&T.

Tom treasured his nonprofit and community service activities, devoting countless hours to the organizations he loved, and serving on the Boards of Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta, Tapestri, GAIN, New American Pathways, and PowerUP Scholarship Fund. A steadfast supporter of law enforcement, Tom proudly graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy and from the Atlanta Police Department’s Citizens Police Academy.

Tom embraced life as an adventure and lived it to the fullest. At 64, he began training in martial arts and earned his first-degree black belt four years later. Thereafter, he devoted his talents to mentoring youth through martial arts. More recently, he had been writing a book about his experience.

Tom’s priorities were always his family and his faith. He was a lifelong parishioner of Holy Spirit Catholic Church. Friends remember Tom as always laughing and smiling, and affectionately poking fun at those close to him and, especially, at himself.

Tom is survived by his spouse, Olga Maria Goizueta Rawls, his three children, Amelia R. Medina, Thompson C. Rawls, and Caroline R. Strumph, and six grandchildren.

On Monday, June 17, 2024, the family celebrated his life at a private Mass at Holy Spirit Catholic Church. The family asks that those who wish to honor Tom’s legacy do so through a donation to the Tom Rawls Memorial Fund at PowerUP Scholarship Fund, Inc. (https://powerupscholarship.org/donate-now/).