Thomas A. Motley

Thomas A. Motley, Sr was born on August 13, 1933 in Autaugaville, Alabama. He was the son of the late Julia Goodgane and Reverend John Wesley Motley and the brother of the late John Wesley Motley, Jr.

Raised on a 120-acre farm in rural Alabama, Tom’s life story almost looked very different. At 9 years old, he was injured on the farm and was told his foot would need to be amputated. His doctor suggested that he participate in a clinical trial for a miracle drug to save his foot. That new drug was penicillin.

Tom made a full recovery and continued to work on the farm until 1947, when boll weevils decimated their cotton crop and his family was forced to move to Bloomfield, PA. He and his family joined Shiloh Community Missionary Baptist Church the following year.

Tom graduated from Schenley High School in 1953 and immediately received his draft papers to serve in the US Army during the Korean War. Following in his brother Bay’s footsteps, he shipped out of New York on the USS Hodges and served in Italy and Austria for two years. He was proud of working his way up through the ranks to Corporal and being assigned Tank Commander of M47 Patton Il tank. After completing his tour of duty and receiving an honorable discharge, he came back to Pittsburgh, married Lillie Law and together, they went on to have 4 sons.

Committed to his family and his faith, Tom was also passionate about the importance of education. In 1957, he would go on to start his career with the Pittsburgh Board of Public Education (BPE) in the Plant Operations Division. Tom utilized his GI benefits to go to school at night and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh magna cum laude with a B.S. in Psychology in 1972. He continued his studies in Pitt’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, receiving a master’s degree in Public Administration.

Tom worked his way through the ranks to the management position of District Operations Supervisor in 1969. In 1980, he was appointed Director of Plant Operations for the entire Pittsburgh Public School System and served in the position until his retirement in 1999, after 43 years of service. Between 1980 and 1999, he never missed a day of work.

Tom also made time to serve tirelessly across numerous Pittsburgh nonprofit organizations well into his 80s. He received multiple awards in his lifetime, one of which was the Homer S. Brown Award, the highest recognition given each year by the Pittsburgh NAACP. Tom was a Life Member of Grand Chapter Kappa Alpha Psi and was particularly proud of his affiliation and his founding of the Kappa Endowed Scholarship Fund, which over the last 34 years has provided millions of dollars in scholarship support to deserving college students. Tom was also a member of the F.R.OG.S Club (Friendly Rivalry Often Generates Success). Tom’s passion and dedication to serving others was further evidenced through his work with United Cerebral Palsy of Pittsburgh (UCP/ CLASS) where he volunteered for over 25 years as a board member, including three years as a board president.

Tom was a family man through and through. Three years after they were married, he and Lillie built their first house on a lot right next door to his parents. He was a great lover of Lillie’s side of the family and was very involved with their annual LMHG Family Reunion. Early on, he helped host the reunion in Pittsburgh and passed this role onto their children. He recently shared with us saying, “I am thankful for what people did for me in my profession. I thank God for my family and feel very blessed for what Lillie and I have built together.”

Tom is survived by his loving wife of nearly 70 years, Lillie Law Motley, their four sons, Thomas, Jr (Elenita), David (Darlene), Stephen (Janice), Chris (Monica), his grandchildren, Chris, Jr (Ashley), Renée, Carrington (Haley), Marcus, and Brandie, his sister-in-law, Evelyn (Jim), great-granddaughter McKenzie, and a host of cousins, nieces, and nephews.

We thank God for Tom and a life well lived.

Thank you and God Bless,

The Motley and Law Family

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