Mr. Robert Eugene Thrasher, 82, of Clayton, Ga., passed away Friday, Feb. 28, 2020.
Funeral services were held at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 in the Chapel of Kilpatrick Funeral Home. Interment was in Henry Cemetery, Hico, La.
Bob grew up in West Monroe, Louisiana, water skiing the Ouachita River and aspiring to be a pilot. He even took flying lessons at Selmon Field in Monroe. Then he met the girl he would marry and lost interest in flying. After playing football and running track at West Monroe High School, Bob majored in Business Administration at Northeast Louisiana State College.
Soon after graduation Bob trained for a job selling paper for Georgia Pacific. This training was loading box cars – good experience, because to sell a boxcar full of paper one needed some hands-on experience. Bob then launched a 32-year career of selling paper for GP. Traveling sales in the Southeast summers proved to be quite uncomfortable (company car and un air-conditioned Ford Falcon). Bob was known to drive to a customer in shorts and put on his suit at a gas station! He was also responsible for initiating the global export markets for the Bleach Board Division at GP. This career was exciting and he enjoyed the experience travel and building the GP brand.
Go! Go! Go! Bob didn’t sit still. Vacations meant Bob and Pat would be headed to some fun country or countries in Europe. As the navigator for the duo, Pat learned the importance of knowing at least where the sun was setting … she learned this specifically in Italy!
Retirement offered a move from Atlanta to Clayton, Ga. Bob enjoyed golfing three days a week with the Kingsmen at Kingwood Resort. He volunteered for 10 years with Meals on Wheels – he was a fast driver and the family always called it Meals on Wheelies.
Social and outgoing, Bob enjoyed great meals and many, many parties, Super Bowls and College Bowls. Bob was active with his church, New Hope UMC as a member, caretaker and bookkeeper.
As a father and sports minded, Bob was an active baseball, softball and football coach, umpire and teacher with both of his children, Robert and Paige.
Bob is preceded in death by his father, Robert Durwood Thrasher and his mother, Mildred Whitlock Eiland.
Bob is survived by his wife, Patricia Ann Davis Thrasher of Clayton; son and daughter in law, Robert W. and Tammy Thrasher of Tiger, Ga.; daughter and son-in-law, Marguerete Paige and Michael Polen of Atlanta, Ga.; brother-in-law, F.B. Davis, Jr of Royce City, Texas; sister-in-law, Marguerete S. McLemore (James) of Winnsboro, La.; cousins, Ginger Thrasher Huckabay (Gary) of Monroe, La., Bill Thrasher (Rebekah) of Springfield, La. Buster Thrasher (Sherry) of South Lake, Texas.
The family asks in lieu of flowers that donations may be made to New Hope United Methodist Church, Clayton, Ga. – P.O. Box 1213 Clayton, Ga. 30525.
Memorial Park Funeral Home, 2030 Memorial Park Road, Gainesville, Ga 30504, along with Kilpatrick Funeral Home, 209 N Bonner Ruston, La. 71270 are in charge of arrangements.
Send online condolences to www.memorialparkfuneralhomes.com or www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com/obituary/