Ramsey Thompson Way

Ramsey Thompson “Bub” Way, 93, died on August 18, 2024, at home with his loving family surrounding him. He is predeceased by his parents Samuel Albert and Mary Thompson Way, son Ramsey Thompson Way, Jr., his brother Samuel Albert Way and sister-in-law Dorothy Cook Way.

Bub was born on October 11, 1930, in Hawkinsville and spent his entire life in his beloved community. He was a graduate of Hawkinsville High School, Middle Georgia College, and the University of Georgia, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduating UGA, he returned home to join his father, uncle, and brother at Way Brothers, Inc. automobile dealership. He spent the next twenty years learning the business and became dealer principal in 1972. He proudly served the middle Georgia area and received deserved recognition for his work, including a nomination for the Time magazine Quality Dealer Award and the Georgia Family Business of the Year Award from the Cox Family Enterprise Center. He was also elected by his peers to be the Georgia representative to the National Automobile Dealers Association. When asked to what he attributed the longevity of Way Brothers, Bub said that his father always told him to know your product, be honest with your customers, give them a fair deal, good service, and to treat them with respect. He also recognized that having employees’ welfare and interest at heart makes the dealership a special place of business for his work family.

In 1961, Bub married Mary Lynde Hatcher of Ft. Valley, Georgia, which was his most astonishing achievement. They made their home in Hawkinsville and raised four children. Their home was and still is the center for family occasions for their four children, their spouses, seven grandchildren, one great grandchild, and another on the way!

Bub served for twenty-four years in the Georgia Army National Guard and retired as a Major. He also served as a Senior Warden of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, President of the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, Trustee of Taylor Regional Hospital, a member of the Pulaski Historical Commission, the Hawkinsville Lions Club, the Rotary Club of Hawkinsville, and was a director and shareholder of Planters First Bank and the PFB Holding Company Board. As a member of the Hawkinsville City Board of Education, he worked successfully toward consolidation of the city and county school systems. In 1982, Bub was presented with the Outstanding Citizen of the Year award by both the Lions Club and the Pulaski Chamber of Commerce primarily for his work to save and preserve Hawkinsville’s Opera House, which continues to be a thriving venue today. Additionally, he was a member of the Boards of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Middle Georgia Military Affairs Committee, the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base, the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association, a Trustee of the University of Georgia Arch Foundation, a member of the Gridiron Secret Society and Palaver Group Four in Macon. Bub had a variety of personal interests including being a member of the Greenland Expedition Society, which involved drilling into the Greenland ice cap to recover abandoned World War II fighter planes and flying to France on a restored WWII-era C-47 cargo plane for a reenactment of the fiftieth anniversary of the D-Day Normandy invasion. Bub and Mary Lynde traveled extensively and especially enjoyed their golfing trips with the U.S. Golf Association. He took up running at the age of seventy-five, competing in roughly fifty road races around Georgia and often brought home first-place trophies by virtue of being the only eligible participant in his age category! Bub also enjoyed many years of boating and camping with his Ocmulgee River Rat buddies on the rivers of the Southeastern United States.

Bub is survived by his loving wife Mary Lynde Hatcher Way; children Felton Hatcher and Melanie Roberts Way, Elizabeth Way and Don Edward Chandler, Albert Glover and Ivy Holliman Way, and daughter-in-law Charlotte Hayes Way; grandchildren Ramsey Thompson Way III, Hamilton Felton Way (Sophie), Winston Hayes Way, Marshall Hatcher Way (Mary Logan), Mary Virginia Way Williams (Trent), Albert Glover Way Jr., Mary Leake Way, great granddaughter Sullivan Virginia Way, and many beloved cousins, nieces and nephews. Many thanks go to Bub’s caregivers, including Vickie, Angie, Carla, Walt, Joan, Runell, and the nurses, staff, and doctors with Gentiva Hospice.

A service will be held on Wednesday, August 21st at the Hawkinsville First United Methodist Church at 11:00 am. Pallbearers will be Bob Way, John Way, Cole Woodroof, Donald Johnson, David Johnson, Harley Lawson, Jason Lord, Joe Meadows and Henry Lambert. Honorary pallbearers will be the employees of Way Brothers, Inc.

If anyone would like to make a donation in Bub’s memory, please do so to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 273, Hawkinsville, GA 31036 or Taylor Regional Hospital Memorial Foundation, 222 Perry Highway, Hawkinsville, GA 31036.

Clark Funeral Home has the privilege of being entrusted with arrangements.