The Columbia Academy family is mourning the loss of one of its own, former teacher and girls basketball coach Tommy Sumrall.
The 54-year-old died Sept. 9 at Asbury Hospice House after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. The longtime coach joined the faculty of Columbia Academy in 2015 after a career in public education at Forrest County Agricultural High School. In the fall of 2017, Sumrall left CA as his illness progressed.
Former CA girls basketball player Aubrey Bilbo said she was saddened when she heard the news.
“He was a man that showed a bunch of girls what it was like to play as a team, to love as a family, to pray like you never did before, a man who had the most dry humor where all you could do was laugh,” she said. “He was a man who took us to a new basketball camp my senior year, and convinced us that it wasn’t the end of the world to leave without our parents going with us. A man who showed us we could run the court for four quarters without dying, a man who knew how to deal with a bunch of crying girls for all kind of reasons. The man who never gave up on us and who pushed us to be the best we can be on and off the court, the biggest supporter no matter what.”
“My heart is broken and my eyes are heavy,” she said. “I’ll never understand why God decided to take coach so early. I’m thankful for the time we had together. He showed me more about life than anybody ever could have.”
Brett Rutland coached alongside Sumrall at CA and echoed Bilbo’s sentiments.
“You meet so many people in life,” he said. “You’re blessed if you realize why you meet them. Some people may call it chance, others may call it fate. For me, it’s divine intervention. It’s God putting the right people in your life at the right time. And more often than not, the biggest blessings on people are not the ones that actually try to make an impact … they don’t look to influence people by forcing it on them. They just live their life and let their life serve as a blessing to others. Coach Sumrall was that kind of a person. He was a quiet person that let his life be an example.”
Rutland said Sumrall joined the Columbia Academy community when he was needed most.
“Not only did he fill the need we had as a faculty member, but he was one of the biggest blessings our students could ever get,” he said. “They needed his influence in their lives – both in the classroom and out. I can promise you won’t find a single person that has anything negative to say about him.”
Rutland said he had being praying for Sumrall’s family since he heard the news Sunday.
“I remember shedding tears just for being grateful for the fact that that I got to call him my friend and colleague,” he said. “I realized then that people will say all sorts of kind words to the family, talking about how great a friend and person he was, but the thing that was immediate to me was there isn’t a thing that any of us can say to paint a picture of the man he was. He did that himself with his own life. His life spoke for itself.”
Brandi Perry coached and taught alongside Sumrall and said Sumrall’s faith was a big part of the man he was.
“I only had the pleasure of knowing coach Sumrall for a short time, but in the time I knew him, I knew a man who loved the Lord,” she said. “He never hesitated to tell you about Him and always had encouraging words to share. To know Tommy Sumrall was to love him. His dry sense of humor would bring a smile to your face regardless of the day you were having. I know he has received healing and has reached his ultimate goal, to stand before our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Former CA football coach Larry Dolan said he and Sumrall had been friends since they met at FCAHS in 1980 and coached together at the school before coming to CA.
“We shared so many great times going to high school together,” Dolan said “After high school, once we each finished our time in the military we came back home. We attended USM together and in a couple of years we were both living our dream of coaching back at our Alma Mater—FCAHS. He loved basketball and I loved football and we both loved AHS. Twenty plus years later we both retired from public education and I ended up at Columbia Academy. Tommy was out of education for a time and wasn’t happy. It didn’t take long being at CA to know that it was the perfect place for my friend. The kids at CA were so special and I told Tommy about them constantly. I brought him to a couple of basketball games and he instantly fell in love with the CA family. Soon thereafter the Cougars needed a new physics teacher and I knew just the person. My friend needed those kids as much as they needed him. It was a match made in heaven.”
Dolan said watching Sumrall dealing with his illness was difficult over the last nine months.
“I never heard him complain through it all. The love he received from his family, friends, and students was amazing. Tommy was always the best person I knew. His character was impeccable and he was always the voice of reason. Many times during my career as I was struggling through adversity he always had the ability to say something to pick me up.”
Funeral services for Sumrall will be held Saturday at Dixie Baptist Church with burial in the Dixie Baptist Church Cemetery.
Pictured Above: Former Columbia Academy girls basketball coach Tommy Sumrall calls a timeout during a game in 2016. Sumrall died earlier this week at age 54.
