Thomas Maynard

Thomas Lanier Maynard, 90, of Bainbridge, GA, passed away Monday, May 2, 2011 at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, AL. The memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 6, 2011 at First Presbyterian Church with Dr. Gerald A. Little officiating. The graveside service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 6, 2011 at Hopeful Baptist Church Cemetery in Hopeful, GA. The family will receive friends from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at Ivey Funeral Home. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.iveyfuneral.com . In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 7067, Bainbridge, GA 39818. Mr. Maynard was born January 15, 1921 at the family residence in Elmodel, GA, the son of Tom and Allie Mae Maynard. He married Sara Margaret Hays in March of 1945. Mr. Maynard attended Norman Park College for two years and joined the U. S. Navy in August of 1942, after the outbreak of World War II. Initially assigned to aviation machinist mate school at Willington Naval Air Station near Memphis, TN, he was transferred to NAS Willow Grove, PA, and eventually to the USS Wasp in Atlantic City, NJ. After attending Emory University and Columbia University, Mr. Maynard was commissioned an Ensign and deployed on the Command ship USS Catoctin and headed for the fight in the Pacific. After the war ended, he was processed out of the U. S. Navy and attended graduate school at Emory University. In 1948, Tom and Margaret moved to Bainbridge, GA, where he was hired as the principal of West Bainbridge High School. He taught classes and coached boys' basketball. He worked with West Bainbridge citizens to finally build a lunchroom and gym for the school community. He is remembered by that community for the profound difference he made in the lives of his students. This began a long life of service to young people. After fifteen years as an educator, Mr. Maynard became the juvenile probation officer in Decatur County. This led to a position as Director of the new Youth Development Center in Blakely, GA. He eventually became the Regional Director of five YDCs in Southwest Georgia, a position from which he retired in 1993 at the age of seventy-two. Mr. Maynard was a dedicated civic leader during the sixty-three years he lived in Bainbridge, GA. An active member of Bainbridge Rotary Club and V.F. W. Post 4904 for many years, he also served thirty-three years on the Bainbridge Planning Commission and was chairman for over twenty years. Mr. Maynard will be best remembered for his service to the youth of Decatur County and his commitment to developing and mentoring young men and women. Mr. Maynard was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret Hays Maynard. Survivors include his sons, Mike Maynard and his wife, Linda, of Mouth of Wilson, VA, and Charles Maynard and his wife, Pam, of Auburn, AL; his daughters, Suzanne Maynard of Pike Road, AL and Peggy M. Corbett and her husband, Rick, of Canton, GA; his sister, Fronia Hart of Elmodel, GA; ten grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and special family friends and care givers, Ellen and Toby Dawson of Dothan, AL.