Thomas G. Sampson Sr.

Thomas "Tommy" Gatewood Sampson, of Atlanta, passed away on July 3, 2025.
He was born in Durham, North Carolina, on October 4, 1946, to parents Daniel George Sampson and Claretta Scott Sampson. He attended C.C. Spaulding Elementary School, Whited Junior High School, and Hillside High School before matriculating at Morehouse College, where he was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. After graduating from Morehouse College in 1968, he attended the University of North Carolina School of Law in Chapel Hill, obtaining his Juris Doctorate in 1971.
In 2006, Morehouse College honored him with its Bennie Trailblazer Award, the highest level of recognition bestowed upon alumni by the College.
A lifelong attorney, Sampson was the co-founder and senior managing partner at Thomas Kennedy Sampson & Tompkins LLP and was the first African American inducted into the Georgia Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. In 2022, he was appointed a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL).
He is survived by his wife, Jacquelyn; son Thomas (Woody) Sampson II; daughter Dr. Alia Brown (Julian); siblings Jane Varner Esq. (Lee); Dr. Gretchen Sampson; Scott Sampson Esq (Shirley); grandchildren Leila Sampson; Hunter Sampson; Jaxson Brown; Jakob Brown; Jace Brown; Julian Isaiah Brown: nieces and nephews, Dan Varner (Ashley), Terri Varner (April) and Stephen E. Okiye, Jr. (Nerissa).
Services will be held at Morehouse ML King Chapel on July 19, 2025, at 11:00 am. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that contributions be made to Morehouse College in remembrance of Thomas G. Sampson. https://giving.morehouse.edu/s/give-now?fund=29997-Sampson