Mr. Thomas Lee Garrett

In Loving Memory Of: Thomas Lee Garrett was born on January 20, 1937, in Chattanooga, Tennessee to the late Ollie Mae Sowell and Earnest Garrett. He was raised by his mother and loving grandparents, the late London and Rainey Sowell, in Athens, Alabama. Tommy Lee, as he was fondly called by his family, accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, and was baptized at 6 years old. One of his greatest fondest memories as a child in Athens was on his great-grandparents land, riding the mule to the field, sitting under a tree, eating all types of fruits that he could possibly pick. In the early 1940’s, Tommy Lee and his grandparents moved to Detroit, Michigan, where his grandfather began employment at Ford Motor Co. After migrating to Detroit, his family immediately found a church home on the Northend of Detroit, Alpha Omega Church of God and Christ, where he was active in both the youth choir and usher board. After a very short period, his family later joined New Bethel Baptist Church on Hastings Street. Tommy Lee was educated in the Detroit Public School system, attending Trowbridge Elementary School, Garfield Middle School, and Northeastern High School. In 1954, young Tommy Lee married the late Erma Vernice Franklin. They were blessed with two children, the late Thomas Lee, Jr. and Sabrina Vonne’. They later divorced. On August 19, 1967, Tommy Lee married the late Annette McKie, and were blessed with three children, Janice Kelly, Karen Nicole, and Brian Robert. As a young-man, Tommy Lee loved sports, especially baseball. He enjoyed telling the story of when he was 16 years old a baseball recruiter came to his house, wanting him to join a Detroit Team. His grandmother was unsure of the recruiter’s intentions and said very firmly, “Thomas Lee will not be playing baseball for any Detroit baseball team”. He always thought he could have been a Detroit Tigers baseball player. Along with his love of baseball, he enjoyed good music, singing with local quartets, and wearing nice clothes, but his real passion was roller-skating at the Arcadia roller rink in Detroit. He loved roller skating, and was known as the smooth rider “roller-skater”, along with his childhood friends, Big Ken, and Donella, dancing on skates to routines to the Motown sounds, riding and gliding on the roller skates with a unique and perfect style, percussion, and undoubtedly a fast-paced rhythm in his “feet-movements”. In later years, horseracing became his great passion that ended recently when Hazel Park Race Track closed just two years ago. His words were, “He loved the Track, and the Track was good to him.” In 1964 he began working at Chrysler Corporation. Because of his outstanding work ethic, Tommy Lee became a lead person in the Tool Crib/Tool and Die department, just two years after he began working for Chrysler. Throughout his employment he received several awards and recognitions for his outstanding work performance, perfect attendance throughout the years, and computer literacy. He was very proud of his long-standing employment at Chrysler and his membership in the UAW. He enjoyed all the things that came with working in the auto industry. Particularly, Tommy Lee played on his Local’s, No. 212, baseball team. One of his most prideful moments was when his Local won the UAW National Baseball Championship at Palmer Park. His team was given letter jackets with “Champions” engraved on it. He wore that jacket until the letters wore off and the leather peeled. Tommy Lee retired from Chrysler after 42 years of employment.

Mr. Thomas Lee Garrett

January 20, 1937 - October 26, 2020