MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1997 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Senator(s) Hamilton, Turner, Johnson (19th)

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE LIFE AND WORK OF GEORGE TILTON THAMES. 

WHEREAS, George Tilton Thames, passed away on September 30, 1996; and

WHEREAS, he was a native of Brandon, Mississippi, and, at the time of his death, was the Head Football Coach and Athletic Director at Oak Hill Academy in West Point, Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, during his collegiate years at Mississippi State University and Mississippi College he was active in athletics as a member of the varsity football teams at both schools and was chosen co-captain of the 1958 Mississippi State University freshman team and co-captain of the Mississippi College team for two years; and

WHEREAS, most of his adult life was devoted to the coaching of football, a vocation in which he excelled as evidenced by the records and championships attained by the teams which he coached; and

WHEREAS, he also advocated excellence in academics and was honored by the Starkville Kiwanis Club with an International Foundation Tablet of Honor in recognition of his dedication to eliciting the best, both on the gridiron and in the classroom; and

WHEREAS, he was a man of strong religious faith, in honor of which the First Baptist Church of Starkville, where he was a deacon, will present the G.T. Thames Leadership Award each spring to an athlete at Mississippi State University who demonstrates Christian leadership both on and off the field; and

WHEREAS, he is remembered with great love and affection by his wife Sallie Anne; by his children Tammie Haynes, Missie Talbot and Jason Thames; by his grandchildren; and by his many other relatives and friends; and

WHEREAS, he is sorely missed by his family, friends and colleagues:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we hereby commend the life and work of George Tilton Thames and extend to his family our deepest sympathy in his loss.