George Thomas Markham

Published 8:25 am Friday, February 5, 2016

George Thomas Markham, 89, died peacefully at his home Feb. 1, 2016.

Born in Morganfield, Tom spent most of his life as a resident of Bowling Green. He was the devoted father of, and mentor to, five children: Fred Markham (Lynda), Wade Markham (Debra Broz), Gail Wolgast (Tim), Janeta Kidd (Emory) and Dane Markham (Lori). His grandchildren and great-grandchildren are spread from coast to coast.

He was preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife of 44 years, Claudia (Sherfey) Markham, and his parents, George Marshall Markham and Frances Belle (Ligon) Markham. He will be dearly missed by his best friend, Mary Carby.

Tom drove bus No. 22 for the Bowling Green Independent School District for more than 20 years. “Mr. Tom”, as his students called him, loved his bus kids. He encouraged them to work hard in school and to strive for success, often by paying them for good grades. One of the saddest times of his life was when at age 87 he decided to retire from his bus driver career. Tom also worked as a police officer, a salesman and an entrepreneur. He was a World War II veteran of the K-9 Corps.

He had many interests throughout the seasons of his life including CB radios, fishing, woodworking, dancing and genealogy. He traced his family history back four centuries to England. He also was a prolific writer of “letters to the editor,” often to the chagrin of his family!

A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at Broadway United Methodist Church, where he was a member.

Donations to honor Tom may be made to one his favorite charities, The Salvation Army or Doctors Without Borders.

J.C. Kirby & Son, Broadway chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.