Thomas Cleon Chambers, III

Thomas (Tommy) Cleon Chambers, III, age 85, of Homerville, Georgia, died peacefully on December 30, 2024. Tommy was born on January 8, 1939, in Columbus, Georgia, 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. 

Tommy 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. He 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, Tommy worked as Territory Manager for Coca Cola USA in Roanoke, Virginia. Tommy then attended John Marshall Law School. After graduating from law school, Tommy moved back to Homerville, Georgia. Tommy served as State Court Solicitor of Clinch County, Georgia, and maintained an active law practice, Chambers and Rice, with offices in Homerville and Waycross, Georgia. 

Tommy 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 twenty-five years.

Tommy also loved serving his community. Tommy was a member of his beloved Homerville United Methodist Church for over 80 years, where he served on several committees, and sat on the same pew as his grandfather and grandmother. Tommy served as a member of the Lions Club and as a Board of Director for the Clinch County Chamber of Commerce. He was also a founding member of the Clinch Foundation, where he traveled the world with his dear friends.

Tommy is survived by his wife and best friend of fifty-two years, Carol Chambers, his daughter, Mari Chambers, his sister, Gretchen Vanerwegen (Jerry), his brother-in-law, Ben Willoughby, his niece Christy Musgrove (Steve), his nephew, Roger James (Jaclyn), and his precious great nieces, Annabel Musgrove, McKinley James, and Reagan James.

A memorial service will be held at the Homerville United Methodist Church, 202 South Church Street, Homerville, Georgia, at 1:00 P.M. on Friday, January 3, 2025. A reception in the Social Hall will follow the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Homerville United Methodist Church.