Columbus native Booker Thomas, a military man and lover of all things golf-related, has died.
He was 79.
“Booker was one of a kind,” said Thomas’ longtime friend James Poe, the retiree activities office director for the Columbus Air Force Base. “There will never be another Booker T. Thomas.”
Poe met Thomas in 1984 and the two remained friends. Poe organized a memorial for Thomas that was held Tuesday morning at the base’s Whispering Pines Golf Course. Typically, a service would be held at a chapel. Poe, however, said Thomas would have wanted the service held on the golf course.
“He was just fanatical about golfing,” Poe said.
Thomas competed in and won several golf tournaments over the years, according to his friend Thomas Lee, of Lee-Sykes Funeral Home. Thomas won the Whispering Pines Columbus AFB Annual Club Championship in 1990, 1991, 1998 and 2002. He was also a Top Ten Shoot Out Champion there in 2001 and 2002.
Thomas was born Christmas Eve in 1936 in Columbus. He grew up in the city, working as a caddy and a waiter and graduating from Hunt High School. After earning a bachelor’s degree from Mississippi Industrial College, Thomas joined the U.S. Air Force and served around the world for more than 20 years.
“He was a big supporter of the base and all things military,” said Terryl Thomas, his nephew.
Terryl Thomas recently retired from the U.S. Navy and said his uncle supported him throughout his career and encouraged him during tough times.
After retiring from the Air Force, Booker Thomas returned to Columbus where he worked as a computer programmer at United Technologies, according to his obituary.
He could frequently be found on the Whispering Pines Golf Course.
Several of Thomas’ friends in attendance at the memorial Tuesday told stories about Thomas, Poe said. Among attendees were James Thomas and George Irby, Thomas’ friend of 35 years.
Irby, speaking with The Dispatch on Tuesday, described Thomas as jovial and opinionated.
“He used to be called the best black golfer in Columbus,” Irby said. “That was his claim to fame.”
Still what Irby will remember most about him is how much he cared about people, particularly his family. When his mother was in the nursing home, Thomas visited her every day.
Thomas was also close with Irby’s father, George “Happy” Irby, who worked at the base. Happy Irby would hold golf tournaments at the base every year, and if Thomas couldn’t attend the tournaments, he made sure to make a donation.
“What I will remember him for will be those two things,” Irby said. “That he cared about my daddy and about his family.”
Funeral services for Thomas will be held Saturday at the Lee-Sykes Funeral Home in Columbus.
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George Irby shares his memories of Booker T. Thomas during a memorial ceremony at the Whispering Pines Golf Course at CAFB. Photo by: Courtesy photo
