Kenneth Clark Manwaring

A memorial service for Kenneth Clark Manwaring, 73, is set for 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 28, 2023, at First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, with Rev. Dr. Timothy Filston officiating. The family will receive friends and visitors from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 27, at Allen & Allen Funeral Home, and at a reception immediately following the service in the church fellowship hall. Lovingly referred to throughout the community as “Coach,” Mr. Manwaring passed away January 23, 2023, at Archbold Memorial Hospital, surrounded by family and friends. Born March 13, 1949, in rural Perry Store, AL, to Sarah Frances and Luther C. Manwaring, Jr., he was raised in Opp, AL. Writing about his early life in rural Alabama, he fondly remembered the influences of his parents - a public school teacher and a registered nurse - and his grandparents, fishing, hunting, playing nearly every sport and helping his grandfather on the family farm. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Geological and Earth Sciences in 1971 from Indiana State University, where he was a standout linebacker on the football team and a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in 1971. He earned his master’s degree in Science and Physical Education from Troy State University in 1973 and, later, a second master’s degree in Educational Administration and his educational specialist degree in Educational Leadership, both from Valdosta State University. He began his career in education at Druid Hills High School in Atlanta before moving to Thomasville in 1973 to teach science and coach football and tennis at Thomasville High School. On April 1, 1978, he married the former Charity Faulk, and the couple had two daughters, Ivey Diane and Sarah Price. He was head football coach at Tri County High School in Buena Vista, GA, from 1981-84, and in 1984 joined the coaching staff and teaching faculty at Thomas County Central High School, working in various positions of leadership with the Thomas County Schools until retirement. He was inducted into the Thomasville-Thomas County Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. In his later years, he served as executive director for Thomasville-Thomas County Habitat for Humanity, volunteered with Wyldlife and was a member of the Department of Family and Children Services Board. He was a faithful and active member of First Presbyterian Church of Thomasville, where he served in a number of leadership positions, including Elder, Deacon, Youth Fellowship leader and member of the Men’s Bible Study Group. He participated in a number of mission trips through First Presbyterian and its mission partners, including hands-on work in Bay St. Louis, MS, for Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery; Yakama (WA) Nation Reservation with Sacred Roads Ministries; Haiti and Kenya with The Outreach Foundation; Ethiopia with Frontier Fellowship; and Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania with the Shallow Wells Program of Marion Medical Missions. In addition to his parents, Mr. Manwaring was preceded in death by his sister, Melvina Diane Manwaring and a sister-in-law, Ivey Faulk. Along with his wife, he is survived by his daughters, Ivey Manwaring of Thomasville and Sarah (Peter) Ireland, of Lafayette, CA; his grandson, Henry Clark Ireland, also of Lafayette; son, AJ Larkins of Atlanta; sisters-in-law Ellen Herring of Boston and Boo (Rick) Ivey of Thomasville; brother-in-law Philip (Sissy) Faulk of Thomasville; niece, Brantley Ivey Harrison; nephews Hamilton Faulk, Ford Faulk and Will Faulk, Thomasville; Mitchell Herring of Boston; and Sterling Ivey of Clinton, SC; and a host of great-nieces and great-nephews. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Thomasville-Thomas County Habitat for Humanity or Thomas County Family & Children Services. Allen & Allen Funeral Home.