Jesup, GA - December 27, 1949 - September 7, 2023 - T. Foster Odom, 73, passed away on Thursday, September 7, 2023 under the care of Atrium Hospice in Macon.
Foster was born December 27, 1949, in Jesup, Georgia to Theodore “Ted” and Monnie (Harvey) Odom and reared in Gardi. Although he enjoyed a successful career as a corporate sales executive, he will be remembered by most for the two things he loved most: football and his girls. Foster attended Jesup High School, lettering for two years as a varsity football player. He lettered in track and competed on the swimming and diving team where he won a state championship. He earned an athletic scholarship to East Tennessee State University where he played football for Coaches John Robert Bell and Richard “Buddy” Bennett.
He would often comment on the influence of those two men, as he earned not only a bachelor’s degree at ETSU, but also his meals. He started at nose guard his junior and senior years, which included the undefeated 1969 season. That season was capped off by defeating Louisiana Tech, and its quarterback Terry Bradshaw, in the Grantland Rice Bowl, 34-14. He was an all-conference honorable mention in the Ohio Valley Conference that year, and named to the all-conference team the following year.
After graduation, Foster returned to football as a coach, first as a defensive line coach and ultimately as head coach at Pinewood Christian Academy from 1979 through 1981. Over the two years prior to Coach Odom’s leadership, Pinewood was 2-18. In his first year as head coach, Pinewood finished 6-4 and in the second year, 1980, it went to the State Championship and finished the season 12-1.
Foster carried his reputation for excellence and leadership on the field into several corporate sales executive roles, first with the Gillette Company, later Snap-On Tools, and ultimately the Conair Corporation. Through these years he continued to volunteer as a coach in and around Wayne County.
When he was not visiting Tybee Island with family and friends, he could be found spending his free time hunting and fishing, especially on the Altamaha River. Proud as he was of his accomplishments in sales and on the field, he was prouder still of his two daughters, instilling in each of them the same passion for excellence and achievement that he had experienced. As the years began to take his memories, he held fast to his pride for Ashley and Erica. “Those are my girls; they’re good ones,” he would say.
Foster was preceded in death by his parents, Ted and Monnie, the devoted mother of his two girls, Gail (Bullock) Odom, and his brother-in-law, Warren Purvis, Jr.
He is survived by his longtime companion, Brenda Timms of Macon; two daughters, Ashley (Cameron) Escott Odom of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Erica Blake Odom of Greeneville, Tenn.; sisters, Sue (Kenny) Tuten of Gardi, Dinah Purvis of Jesup and Linda (Carroll) Odom Phillips of Tybee Island; granddaughters, Georganna Wilson and Blythe Kuhlman, along with many nieces and cousins.
A celebration of his life will be 11 AM Saturday, September 16, 2023 at Gardi Baptist Church with Rev. Stanley Todd officiating. The family will receive friends an hour prior to the services at the church.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Foster’s name to the ETSU Champions Fund, which supports the ETSU Football program he loved.
Rinehart and Sons Funeral Home of Jesup is in charge of arrangements.