Norman Ray Bankston

Norman Ray Bankston

A memorial service for Norman Ray Bankston, 60, Thomasville, is at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2016, at First Presbyterian Church, with the Rev. Tim Filston and the Rev. Emory Smith officiating. Mr. Bankston died Sunday, Jan. 17, 2016, at his residence. Born May 9, 1955, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he was a son of the late Lucia Gough Bankston and Harry Thomas Bankston Jr., of Valdosta. On Feb. 23, 1991, in Moultrie, he married the former Ruth Charles Tennent, of Griffin. Mr. Bankston was a 1974 graduate of Valdosta High School, played football under legendary Coach Wright Bazemore and was on a national VHS football championship team. Employed by Community Newspapers Holding Inc., Mr. Bankston was publisher of the Thomasville Times-Enterprise. He came to the newspaper from an Enterprise, Alabama, paper in 1994, as advertising manager. He was named publisher in 2004. A former member of the Thomasville Rotary Club, Mr. Bankston was previously active in the Valdosta Touchdown Club and the American Heart Association in Valdosta. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Thomasville. He is survived by his wife, Ruth Charles “Charlie” Bankston, Thomasville; his children, Brittany Bankston Williams (Eric), Valdosta, Harry Alston Bankston, Valdosta, Laurie McGee Bankston, Valdosta, Norman Henry Bankston, Thomasville and Mary Quinn Bankston, deceased. A brother, Harry Thomas Bankston III, West Point; mother-in-law, Ruth Gadd Tennent, Thomasville; brothers-in-law; sisters-in-law; and several nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends at the church after the service. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Quinn Bankston Fund, C/O Park Avenue United Methodist Church, 100 East Park Avenue, Valdosta, Georgia 31602, Thomasville First Presbyterian Church or the charity of your choice. — Allen & Allen Funeral Home