DUBLIN, Ga. — Laurens County and the Central Georgia community will say their final goodbyes to a hometown hero and star football player, Demaryius Thomas.
The Dudley Funeral Home in Dublin organized a public viewing for Thomas Saturday starting at 9 a.m. and it's expected to end at 11 a.m.
There will also be a processional and then a funeral service that's open to the public, but private to media.
The 33-year-old former NFL star died last week at his Roswell home; months after officially retiring from the league. His cause of death hasn't been officially released, but family told the Associated Press they believe he died from a seizure.
Thomas played high school football at West Laurens, college football at Georgia Tech, and spent most of his NFL career with the Broncos.
In his time at West Laurens, he was a two-time All-Region selection and was named All-State by the Atlanta Journal Constitution his senior year after an 82 reception, 1,234 yard and 10 touchdown season.
He then committed to Georgia Tech where he recorded 2,339 reception yards and 15 touchdowns in three seasons. Both are fourth all-time in Georgia Tech history.
From 2010, when the 6'3", 225 lbs. Thomas was selected by then Broncos’ football boss Josh McDaniels in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft, until he was traded to Houston halfway through the 2018 season, Thomas compiled enough production to rank second in team history with 9,055 receiving yards and 60 touchdown catches while his 665 receptions ranked third.
Counting his 10 playoff games with the Broncos, Thomas finished his career with 777 catches for 10,522 yards and 69 touchdowns.
Off the field, though, Thomas is remembered for his character, heart, and kindness. His former coach, Dwayne Gibson, told 13WMAZ he had a smile that would melt the room.
"If you give him just a minute and let him smile, he'll just warm the room, he'll melt the room. His smile would literally melt the room, and I'm tearing up now thinking about it, because it would -- it would literally melt the room," said Gibson.
When Thomas was 11, police arrested his mother and grandmother on drug charges, splitting him and his sister up once their mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but Dewana Kemp, now principal of West Laurens High School, says you couldn't tell.
"It's what we've always known, what he's gone through, but you wouldn't know it because of the person he was. He smiled through it, he pushed forward," she said.
Thomas never forgot where he came from, returning home to host youth football camps in the county that raised him.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE