SANDY SPRINGS, SC – Thomas Harper Milam, 88, husband of the late Jane Carson Milam, died April 2, 2010 at his residence.
Born in Sandy Springs, he was the son of the late Robert Richardson (Bob) Milam and Leah Harper Milam. He graduated from Pendleton High School in 1940, and served in the U.S. Army during WW II from 1942 to 1947. He served as a rifleman squad leader and platoon sergeant, and was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, Expert Infantry Badge, World War II Victory Medal, and the Army of Occupation Medal. He witnessed the bombing of Negasaki from the sea, where as the assault squad leader of his battalion, he was staged with the 98th Infantry to invade Japan in the planned Operation Olympic. He was a farmer and co-owner of Milam Spreader Service. He was a member of the historic Pendleton Farmers’ Society and the Pendleton Young Farmers.
He was a fifth-generation member of Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church, where he was a deacon and served as Sunday School secretary for over 60 years. He was a founding member of the Sandy Springs Fire Department, where he served as chief. He retired from the fire department at the age of 80 after 23 years of service. He volunteered in the community by raising the flag at the Sandy Springs Post Office, removing trash from the Sandy Springs Community Park, and collecting cans for the Anderson County Fire Protection Burned Children’s Fund. In recognition of his service, he was named Anderson County Firefighter of the Year in 1998, awarded the Anderson County Fire Protection Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001, honored for his contributions to the community by the Anderson Rotary Club in 2002, and named as a Senior Superlative by the Foothills Presbytery in 2007.
In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by three brothers, George Harper Milam, Robert Richardson (Bobby) Milam, Jr., and Frank Harper Milam; two sisters, Emma Milam and Julia Milam Every Bradford; and two close cousins, Henry Pickett Milam and Cornelia Milam McCraw.
He is survived by two sons, William Thomas Milam and his spouse, Darlen Weisgerber Milam, of Maryville, TN, and Stephen Richard Milam and his spouse, Dana Wilkie Milam, of Salisbury, NC, and her parents, Joel D. and Charlotte Lee Wilkie; one daughter, Elizabeth Milam and her spouse, Stephen Lomas, of Sandy Springs; seven grandchildren, Megan Ruth Milam, Daniel Thomas Milam, Carson Hunt Lomas, Anna Elizabeth Milam, Sara Catherine Milam, Turner Stephenson Lomas and Leah Rose Milam; three sisters, Elizabeth Milam Adams, Annie Earle Milam Derrick, and Lucia Burns Milam Cook; 17 nephews and nieces, including George Kennedy Milam; and many dedicated friends including Thomas Edmond (Tom) Garrison, III and family of Denver Downs Farm.
After losing Jane, his last years were enriched by the fellowship he found at Bo’s Grill, MeMaw’s Café’ and Waffle House #426, for which his family is grateful for their kindness.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church officiated by the Rev. Susan Smith. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 4 until 6 p.m. Sunday at Sullivan-King Mortuary, Northeast Chapel, 3205 North Highway 81, Anderson. The family is at the home of his daughter, Elizabeth Milam, 509 Hickory Lane, Pendleton.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mt. Zion Presbyterian Church Cemetery Fund, P.O. Box 429, Sandy Springs, SC 29677, or the Sandy Springs Fire Department Endowment Fund, P.O. Box 216, Sandy Springs, SC 29677.
SULLIVAN-KING MORTUARY, NORTHEAST CHAPEL