Tommy Lee King Sr.
Elder Tommy Lee King Sr., 86, of Graham, Ga., passed away Wednesday, December 20, 2017, in his residence, surrounded by his loving and devoted wife and family.
He was born September 23, 1931, in Francis Mine, Burgettstown, a son of the late John A. King and Ada B. Harris-King.
Mr. King was a graduate of Burgettstown High School and served in the U.S. Army for about two years.
After returning home to Washington, for a brief time, he was employed at Washington Steel mill, then by U.S. Postal Service, working in Pittsburgh and Washington, and transferring to Virginia and then to Washington, D.C., from where he retired. He held several positions throughout his career at the postal service ranging from mail clerk to mail carrier. He served as union shop steward. He earned the nickname of “The Philadelphia Lawyer” by the way he represented employees.
He was an avid Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He loved watching and playing golf everywhere he went and participated with a traveling golf team based out of Washington.
Mr. King was elder at Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Baxley, Ga., when he relocated to Graham, Ga. He was also active in Maryland and Pennsylvania.
On September 5, 1984, he was united in holy matrimony to Cora Lynette Seward-King. He loved all of his family and would do anything for them with a lesson on life skills.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Gladys; former wife Sadie Small-King; mother-in-law and father-in-law Anna Bell and Leroy R. “Johnny” Seward; and brothers and sister in-law A. Albright, Timothy, Robert “Bobby” Seward, James “John” Seward, Nellie Seward and Jacqueline Seward-Thomas.
He leaves to cherish his memories, a loving and devoted wife of 33 years, Cora Lynette Seward-King of Graham; daughters Ada R. Ellis of Lexington Park, Md., and Tracey L. King of Bridgeville; sons Tommy L. King Jr. (Roslyn) of Virginia Beach, Va., and Johnny A. King (Sherry) of Baltimore, Md.; grandchildren Nina L. and Daryl J. Ellis (Brandy), Timothy L. and Nicholas R. King, Tamar L. King and Jonay A. Jordan (Danny); sisters in-law Annette Seward of Nashville, Tenn., Ella (Robert) Studevent of Washington, D.C., Dorothy Hayes of Graham, Etta (Dwayne) Kemp of Clinton, Md., and Shirley (Lennis) Johnson of Hazlehurst, Ga.; brothers-in-law Glenn and Richard Seward, both of Miami, Fla., Edwin “Roosevelt” Seward of Antioch, Tenn., and Thomas O. Thomas of Darien, Ga.; 10 great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A viewing was held in Royal Funeral Home Chapel, 247 West Pine Steet, Jesup, GA 31547, and services were held in Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 20 Kingdom Hall Road, Baxley, GA 31513. Interment in Morgan Chapel Cemetery, Graham.
Final arrangements are entrusted to Royal Funeral Home Inc.