January 23, 1925 – April 2, 2020
Thomas Fredrick Smallwood, 95, of Bainbridge, GA, passed away Thursday, April 2, 2020.
Due to the ongoing concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, a private graveside funeral service will be held at Attapulgus Cemetery. A memorial service will be held at a later date.
Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com.
Thomas Fredrick Smallwood was born January 23, 1925 in Attapulgus, GA, the son of Henry Hoyt Smallwood and Eula Means Smallwood. He graduated from Attapulgus High School and attended Georgia Tech before entering the U.S. Army during World War II. He served in the Battle of the Bulge and was lost behind the German Lines for 3 days and presumed dead. He also participated in the liberation of Paris, France.
He met the love of his life, Janie Little, while visiting family in Alabama. They were married for 72 years. He was a loving and devoted father to his children and 8 nieces and nephews.
Fredrick loved his hometown of Attapulgus. He was a lifelong member of the Attapulgus United Methodist Church serving in many positions over the years. He also served as Trustee of the Attapulgus Cemetery for many years. He was one of the original members of the Attapulgus Kiwanis Club and instrumental in building the Attapulgus swimming pool. He never learned to swim but wanted his children and the children of Attapulgus to have the opportunity to learn to swim. He went on to serve in the Bainbridge Kiwanis Club for many years. He was very interested in genealogy and an active member of the Historical Society.
After retiring from tobacco farming, he continued to work at Fowlstown Mill, ITT, and retired from the Pillsbury grain purchasing plant in Bainbridge. He later returned to college and completed his AA in Business from Bainbridge College. After Janie retired, they began traveling all over the United States, Europe, and Australia.
Survivors include his children, Sue S. Cooper and her husband, Carl, of Gallatin, TN, and Betty S. Hotchkiss and her husband, Mike, of Haddock, GA; his sister-in-law Frances Crowley Smallwood; his grandchildren, Clayton Cooper (Amanda), Karen Neal (Heath), Rachel Litland (Spencer), Marissa Smallwood, and Thomas Fredrick Smallwood III (Trey); his nine great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, Fredrick was preceded in death by his wife of 72 years, Janie Smallwood; his siblings, William Alton Smallwood, James Francis Smallwood, and Hoyt Jackson Smallwood; and his son, Thomas “Tommy” Fredrick Smallwood, Jr.
