Judge Thomas Drayton Conley III

1949 - 2022

Judge Thomas Drayton Conley, III
December 3, 1949 - December 28, 2022
Lexington, South Carolina - Judge Thomas Drayton Conley, III, at the age of 73, passed away peacefully in his sleep Wednesday, December 28, 2022. Tom was born on December 3, 1949 and grew up in the Hialeah/Miami area of Florida.
During some of his formative years, he went to Georgia Military Academy. He attended and graduated from Miami Central High School where his love of the printing industry began. When he was 16, he took a printing course there and also had the privilege of working part-time at Printcrafters where he always said he was eternally grateful for that experience.
After high school, Tom went to Florida Bible College where he met the love of his life, Dianne. They were married on March 12, 1971. On January 9, 1975, he was blessed with his only son, J.T., who was the pride of his life.
Tom's print life continued with a joint venture with a colleague to form Rapture Press. From there, he worked at another small print shop before going to work for Virginia Paper Company in Miami in 1979, which then moved him to SC in 1983 to be Operations Manager in Columbia. Tom then went to work for Mac Papers in 1989. In 1993, he joined in partnership with James S. Kohn, Jr. to purchase Professional Printers where he was V.P., CFO for 30 years. Two years later, Jess. W. MacCallum also joined the partnership.
The love of teaching Adult Sunday School classes and holding Deaconship positions at Lauderdale Community Church and Calvary Church in Florida and more currently, Covenant Community Church, was a huge part of who Tom was.
Tom also loved getting involved with community and school fundraisers and food drives. One of the most endearing things about Tom was how important it was to him to always help out another human being whether it was being benevolent or just doing counseling when needed.
Tom's favorite pastime and hobby was turning pens and he loved giving them to people as soon as he would finish one.
Tom was predeceased by his father, Judge Thomas Drayton, Jr.; his mother, Phoebe Louise Dean Conley Bunga and his sister, Shirley Louise Conley Dice. Tom is survived by his wife, Barbara Dianne Churchill Conley; his son, Judge Thomas Drayton Conley, IV (Marny Lee Williamson Conley) and his sister, Rochelle Manora Conley Williams. Extended surviving family members include three first cousins, two nieces and six nephews.
Memorial services for Tom will be held at Caughman-Harman Funeral Home, Lexington Chapel, on Thursday, January 5. Visitation will be from 3:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. and his memorial service will begin at 5:00.
In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to Covenant Community Church, 1302 Old Orangeburg Road, Lexington, SC 29073.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.caughmanlexington.com for the Conley family.