Thomas L Willerson

In Loving Memory of

Thomas L. Willerson

1935 – 2025

In the stillness of Kingston, Georgia, where the river winds through its old, familiar path and the summers run long and sweet, Thomas L. Willerson passed peacefully from this life at the age of ninety. His story began in 1935, born to Raymond and Rosa Mae Lanham, who surely cradled him in the same kind of care he would one day pass down to his own.

Thomas belonged to the kind of generation shaped by service, steady hands, and a quiet resilience. He served honorably in the United States Army, where time and distance only sharpened his appreciation for home. And when he returned, he stitched himself into the fabric of family, into the patterns of ordinary days that mattered more than grand ones.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Lois Willerson, whose memory remained close to him always, as present in his world as a favorite hymn sung soft beneath the breath. Their love was of the enduring sort, unhurried and anchored by the little things: supper shared, a glance understood, silence kept in comfort.

Thomas raised a daughter, Debra Self, with that same kind of steady, unspectacular devotion that is the true mark of love. Through her, his legacy extended into the lives of his grandchildren; Chris, married Estella and Shane, married to Cassie. Shane and Chris men who carry the shape of Thomas’ character in their bearing. His great-grandchildren, Austin (and his wife Bre), Easton, Peyton, Brentley, Gavin, Bristol, and GraceLynn, all carry in their veins a measure of his story, even as they write their own.

Thomas found joy in the slower, sweeter pastimes of a Southern man’s life. He could often be found watching an Atlanta Braves game, his eyes tracing every pitch like scripture. He found peace in the woods and along riverbanks, where the world hushed long enough to let a man breathe. He camped and fished with the same gentle patience he brought to all things.

A service honoring Thomas’ life will be held on Tuesday, August 5, 2025, at the Good Shepherd Funeral Home chapel, with visitation beginning at 1:00 PM and the funeral to follow at 3:00 PM. Dewey Atchley will officiate, and Pam and Greg Adams will lift their voices in “How Great Thou Art,” a hymn as timeless as the man it honors. Thomas will be laid to rest at Morning View Cemetery, carried to his final resting place by pallbearers Austin Self, Shane Self, Chris Self, Mike Lewis, Tony Crunkelton, Chris Kirk, Easton Self, and Brentley Self.

In the hush of memory, where love lingers long after hands are still, Thomas Willerson will live on in stories told, in Braves games watched, in the scent of a campfire, and in the hearts of those who called him their own.

Good Shepherd Funeral Home has been entrusted with the arrangements.

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