Tommy L. Surles, III

T.L. “Tommy” Surles, III was born in Lake Providence, LA to T. L. Surles II and Verie Lucile Graddy Surles. He made a peaceful transition to his eternal home on January 20, 2021. He was a graduate of Plains High School in Plains, GA, earned a BA in Biology and a BS in Chemistry from Georgia Southwestern College and Georgia Southern University respectively. Tommy lived most of his life in Georgia, where he started his professional career at Southern Nitrogen Co in Savannah, GA in 1964. He moved into a 33 year career in the paper industry. He retired from Champion Paper Co in Cantonment, FL in 1999. He started and operated Pensacola Mill Investment Club for 20 years. He served on The Board of Directors at the Harvesters Federal Credit Union for 27 years, retiring as Board Chairman. Tommy was active in several churches serving as deacon. He was an amateur genealogist, he authored a published book on his family line. He was an active contributor to a National Data Base that helps others to locate gravesites and lineage information. He was an avid reader, enjoyed bird watching, gardening, canning, fishing, and traveling the globe with his wife. Most of all he loved spending time with his family. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Madge Baker. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Jan C. Surles, two sons: Darren Coe, Brett Sterling; four grandchildren, Steven (Aubrey) Plumley, Sherry Frances Hudson, Brett Sterling Surles II (Brooke), Thomas Wendell Surles; brothers, William Michael (Anna), Stephan Daniel (Gay), Russell G. (Judy) and sister, Judy Carol S. Johnson (Jack) as well as six great grandchildren and a large number of relatives and friends. The funeral and viewing will be for immediate family only. A public celebration of his life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Heart Association.