Obituary - park director Thadeus Lamont Studstill, rest in peace - Obituary

On May 27, 2001, the recreation profession and the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association lost one of its most outstanding professionals with the passing of Thadeus Lamont Studstill. Born and raised in Lakeland, Georgia, Thad graduated from Lanier County High School in 1957, and after spending two years at Georgia Military College, he graduated with degree in Recreation Administration from Georgia Southern College.

His career began a year prior to his college graduation, when he worked with the Statesboro Recreation Department, and after graduating from college he was employed by the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department from 1961 to 1964. As a Senior Recreation Therapist at the Central State Hospital in Milledgeville from 1964 to 1967, Thad was in initiator of the Development Disabilities Grant, which led to the appointment of the first five municipal recreational therapists in Georgia. He was also an initiator in the Georgia Special Olympics at this time. After then serving in Georgia's Department of Natural Resources as Assistant Director of the Georgia Recreation Commission, Thad was then named Southeast Regional Director for NRPA. In 1977, Thad left Georgia and moved to Washington, D.C., where he served as Deputy Director of NRPA until 1984. His return to Georgia would last another 16 years, where he served as the Executive Director of the Georgia Recreation and Park Association from 1984 until 2000.