Thomas Franklin Lear, Jr.

Services for Thomas Franklin Lear, Jr. M.D., 76, of Thomasville are 11:00 am, Thursday, September 16, 2010 at First United Methodist Church. The Rev. Mike Huling, Sr. will officiate and interment will be in Laurel Hill Cemetery. Dr. Lear died Sunday, September 12, 2010 at Archbold Hospital. Born September 7, 1934 in Camilla, he was the son of the late Thomas F. Lear, Sr. and Temperance Elizabeth Burson Lear. Dr. Lear practiced for 30 years in Thomasville and later in Bainbridge. He graduated from Mitchell County High School in 1951 and from the University of Georgia, where he majored in chemistry. He received his medical degree at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Following medical school, he served as Lt. Commander on a destroyer in the U.S. Navy, sailing in the Mediterranean. After two years of active duty in the Navy, he trained in General Surgery at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. In 1969, Dr. Lear opened a private practice in General Surgery in Thomasville. Dr. Lear was an avid fisherman, boat builder, and tinkerer extraordinaire. For the last 20 years, he lived on his beloved farm outside Thomasville. Survivors include wife, Jan Harrison Lear, of Thomasville, formerly of Tallahassee; children, Kevin Culpepper Lear of Thomasville and daughter, Stephanie Lear Henderson Ian of Atlanta; sister, Charlotte Clare Lear of Thomasville; step-daughters, Catherine Fleming Blair Brian and Holle Fleming Roberts Matt and 5 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by grandparents Lucille Culpepper Burson and Judge Benjamin Thomas Burson. In lieu of flowers, the family request that donations please be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 1201, Albany, GA 31702. The family will receive friends 6-8 pm, Wednesday, September 15, 2010 at Allen & Allen Funeral Home. Guests may sign the online guest register at www.allenfh.com