Thomas Ellison Smith

Thomas Ellison Smith, 92, of Athens passed away on Sunday June 27, 2021. Born on December 26, 1928 in Atlanta, GA, he was the son of the late Charles Dean Smith, Sr., and Nora Ellison Smith.  He always said he was the best Christmas gift his mother ever received.

He graduated from Byrd High School in Shreveport, LA and received a degree in journalism from the University of Texas.  He served 18 months with the USAF as a communications specialist in Puerto Rico where he fell in love with the Caribbean. He returned to Atlanta, wrote for the newspaper and various magazines, and sold advertising for the next 20 years.  In 1977 he began working as a tax reviewer for the IRS until his retirement in 1990.

Tom loved sailing, tennis and hiking, but his greatest love was the theater, especially musical theater.  He married Mary Emma Moreland (Mimi) in 1960 and together they enjoyed sharing their love of all sorts of music and theater for the next 40 years.   Upon retirement they moved to North Georgia and he was instrumental in the revitalization of the Habersham Community Theater.

After Mimi’s passing in 2008 he continued to be involved with Grace Calvary Church, the Clarkesville Library and his card group.  In 2018 he moved to Athens to be closer to his daughter but he never lost his love for “the hills of Habersham.”

In addition to his parents and Mimi, he was preceded in death by his brother,

Dean Smith and wife Judy.  Survivors include his daughter Leslie Smith Sinyard (Robert) of Athens; grandchildren, Trey Sinyard of Boston, MA, Blake Sinyard of Washington, DC, Elizabeth Sinyard of Athens; sisters-in-law, Frances Johns of San Francisco, CA and Helen Cotton of Ithaca, NY and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 14 at 1:00 pm in the chapel at Lord & Stephens Funeral Home, West, Watkinsville.   The family will receive friends one hour prior.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Thomas’s memory may be made to Grace Calvary Episcopal Church at P O Box 490, Clarkesville, GA 30523 or online at grace-calvary.org.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Home West, Watkinsville is entrusted with arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com.