Thomas (sonny) Long

Thomas Clayton Long, Jr. 77 died Saturday March 22, 2008 at St. Dominic Hospital. Visitation will be Monday, 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home and resume at 9 until the 10am service on Tuesday at Marvin United Methodist Church. Burial will be at the Florence Cemetery.\ \ After graduating from Florence High School, Mr. Long attended Hinds Junior College and Mississippi State University. He joined the Air Force in May of 1951 during the Korean War. He served in both Korea and Vietnam and flew rescue helicopters with the "Jolly Greens" in Vietnam. Mr. Long flew around the world five times when assigned to U.S Embassy Support. The Distinguished Flying Cross and Presidential Unit\ Citation was among the awards he received during his 24 years of service.\ \ Retiring from the Air Force in 1974, his next retirement was from Flight Safety International in Wichita, Kansas in 1992. He returned to Florence, his home town, where he and his wife Ann built their retirement home and enjoyed it and their community for over15 years. \ \ Mr. Long was preceded in death by his parents Clayton and Ruth Byrd Long and his aunt/stepmother, Ethel Byrd Long. Survivors include his wife Ann Casey Long of Florence; 2 sons: Tom Long and his family of Greenfield, IN and Larry Long and his family of Indianapolis, IN; 2 stepdaughters; Debbie Shivers Ford and her family of Germantown, TN and Robin Shivers Seitz and her family of Vicksburg. He is also survived by one sister Karolyn House and her family of Hattiesburg; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.\ \ Memorials may be made to Marvin United Methodist Church.\