Terry Yarbrough

Thomas Terry Yarbrough, 67, of Athens, passed away on February 16, 2024. Born on June 11, 1956, he was the son of the late, Margaret Sue Witcher Yarbrough and James Thomas “Tommy” Yarbrough. Terry is also preceded in death by his sister, Peggy Yarbrough Lowe, his brother-in-law, Bob Lowe, his nephew, Robert Lowe and other family members.

Terry was born and raised in Athens, GA. In his teenage years he was an Eagle Scout, and an active member of 4-H where he traveled the country. He graduated from Cedar Shoals High School in 1974 and then went on to become an EMT and Firefighter for Athens Clarke County. He remained with the Department and spent most of his 36-year career as the Training Lt., prior to retiring in 2014. Throughout his life, “Yardy” was an outstanding gardener and never trusted a store-bought tomato. He was a loving father and grandfather, a loyal friend, and a faithful servant to The Lord.

Terry is survived by his children, Emily McGhee (Jeff), Maggie Rudio (Michael) and Richard Yarbrough; and his grandchildren, Finn and Eleanor Rudio and Minnie McGhee; his sister, Linda Yarbrough Daniel, and his brother, Wayne Yarbrough (Sharon). He is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at 1:00pm in the chapel of Lord & Stephens, EAST, Athens. A reception will immediately follow the service at the funeral home.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, EAST, Athens is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.

An Open Letter of Thanks from Emily, Maggie, and Richard:

We are so thankful that Jesus came and took our dad to heaven at 11:36pm on Friday, 2/16/2024. We are heartbroken for all of us that loved him and are left behind. But we are comforted in the love of our Heavenly Father, the love of one another, and in knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt he is in heaven, healed and in perfect peace.

We are planning a service for Saturday, March 23 at Lord & Stephens Funeral Home in Athens, GA for anyone that would like to attend. We will share more details as we have them. Thank you.

To the people who told us we were good daughters and a good son, thank you.

To our friends, family, and everyone we’ve ever met that works in healthcare, thank you. Thank you for letting us read test results in My Chart, google Latin words,  and then come to you for grand rounds. Thank you for letting us bend the rules of HIPAA and bring you into our family and pick your brain.

To every person that prayed for our dad and for us and for our family, thank you. Thank you to your bible studies, your prayer lists, and your faith communities. We felt loved and supported and saw God’s hand in all of this all along the way.

To each and every one of the 71 visitors that came and brought smiles to our faces, thank you. You brought love to all of us.

To every person that called and/or texted and even those who learned to text just so you could reach out and check on us or our dad, thank you.

To our husbands, who gave us 2.5 weeks of quality time with our dad while keeping the home fires burning and some of the laundry churning, thank you. Thank you for being as steady and reliable as our dad and reminding us why we loved him so and why we fell in love with you.

To our friends that knew our dad through our stories and through meeting him over the course of our lives, thank you for wrapping your arms around us and celebrating our dad. Thank you for walking our dogs, feeding our families, and lifting our spirits.

To our colleagues and employers, thank you for the incredible amount of grace you extended us so we could be where we needed to be.

To the nurses, doctors, social workers and everyone that played a part in this journey, thank you for treating all of us with dignity and respect.

To our Yarbrough family, thank you for wrapping us up in love and dropping everything to be with our dad these final days.

To our dad’s friends, all of them, young and old, thank you for showing up. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your friendship and your kindness. Thank you for being a friend to all of us.

To the EMS and fire department family, who are both family and friends, thank you. Thank you for reliving the glory days at his bedside and sharing them with us. Thank you for teasing him till the end. Thank you for the t-shirts, the hats, the endless offers of housing, meals or anything we needed. Thank you for showing us who our dad was. Thank you for making sure we know the honor it is to be Yardy’s kid.

To our dad, thank you. Thank you for loving us in word and action, in prayer and in presence. Your love was steadfast and sure. We’ve never questioned it. You showed us that faith is bigger than a once a week service on Sunday morning. You taught us that being honest and letting someone down was better than dishonesty and delusion. You taught us to be faithful to one another, to love one another, and to trust in the Lord. There’s no better ending to your story than the three of us, being closer than ever, leaning on one another and lifting each other up, and trusting in God’s perfect plan to welcome you to heaven. We will love you forever and you’ll always be our dad.