Chambers
HOMERVILLE — Thomas (Tommy) Cleon Chambers, III, age 85, of Homerville died peacefully December 30, 2024.
Chambers was born on January 8, 1939, in Columbus, Ga., to Thomas Cleon Chambers, Jr. and Annabel Hancock Chambers. On June 16, 1972, he married Carol Willoughby Chambers. They had one daughter, Martha (Mari) Carolyn Chambers.
Chambers was awarded a scholarship to play football and basketball at Baylor Preparatory School. After graduation, he attended his beloved Georgia Institute of Technology where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial management. Chambers was a member of Phi Delta Theta and Sigma Delta Kappa fraternities. After graduation, he served six years in the United States Air Force, where he was stationed for three years at Tachikawa Air Base in Tachikawa, Japan and commissioned as Captain.
After serving in the Air Force, Chambers worked as Territory Manager for Coca Cola USA in Roanoke, Va. He then attended John Marshall Law School, and after graduation from law school, moved back to Homerville. After his return to Georgia, Chambers served as State Court Solicitor of Clinch County and maintained an active law practice, Chambers and Rice, with offices in Homerville and Waycross.
Chambers was a member of several bar and civil activities. His bar activities included serving as a member of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, the Executive Committee of the Workers’ Compensation Claimants Lawyers Section of the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the American Bar Association, and the Alapaha Bar Association. He served as the president and as secretary of the Alapaha Bar Association. He also served on the State Bar of Georgia Workers’ Compensation Section, the General Practice, and Trial Section. He was appointed to the Board of Governors, State Bar of Georgia, in 1989, and served for 25 years.
Chambers also loved serving his community. He was a member of his beloved Homerville United Methodist Church for more than 80 years, where he served on several committees, and sat on the same pew as his grandfather and grandmother. Chambers served as a member of the Lions Club and as a Board of Director for the Clinch County Chamber of Commerce. He also was a founding member of the Clinch Foundation, where he traveled the world with his dear friends.
Chambers is survived by his wife and best friend of 52 years, Carol Chambers; daughter, Mari Chambers; sister, Gretchen Vanerwegen (Jerry); brother-in-law, Ben Willoughby; niece Christy Musgrove (Steve); nephew, Roger James (Jaclyn); and his precious great nieces, Annabel Musgrove, McKinley James, and Reagan James.
A memorial service was held Friday, January 3 at the Homerville United Methodist Church.
Officiating was the Rev. Joseph Carter with the eulogy by Mrs. Lisa Conner. The congregation sang “How Great Thou Art” and “I’ll Fly Away” and Molly Daughtary sang “It Is Well with My Soul.”
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Homerville United Methodist Church, 202 South Church Street, 31634.
Roundtree Funeral Home was in charge of the arrangements.
