Thomas Lee Rider

June 24, 1932 - February 6, 2022

Thomas Lee Rider, 89, passed from this life to his heavenly home on Sunday, February 6, 2022, at his home in Paragould, Arkansas. Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm on Thursday, February 10, 2022, at the First Baptist Church in Cherokee Village, AR with Pastor Larry White presiding. Friends may visit with the family at the church from 1:00 until 2:00. Private burial will follow the service. Tom was born on a farm in Strawberry Township in Lawrence County, Ark., son of Edgar Lee Rider and Vera Lavinia Guthrie Rider. He grew up mostly on farms in northeast Arkansas and southeast Missouri; picking and hoeing cotton was a common activity as he was growing up. As a young man he moved to Sterling, Illinois and began employment with Northwestern Steel and Wire where he worked for over 30 years. Shortly after arriving in Sterling he returned to Arkansas to marry his bride, Charlotte Penn. After retiring from Northwestern Tom moved to Ogden, Utah and worked for 7 years at Nucor Steel. After a long and successful career in the steel industry he retired to Cherokee Village, Arkansas and spent many hours on his “retirement farm” fishing and hunting. Throughout his life, Tom was a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ, and he and Charlotte faithfully served in churches, both in Illinois, Utah and Arkansas. Tom was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Charlotte; two half-siblings, Verdell Rider and Wanda Rider Hammons and a brother Bill Rider of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He is survived by Lois, his wife; his brothers, Carl of Pocahontas, Ark., and Jerry of Little Rock; as well as his children, Kathy Hamilton of Clearwater, Fl; Tom Rider of Butner, NC; his stepdaughters Tereasa Mitchell of Paragould, AR and Allisa Verhille of Oklahoma City, OK and 9 grandchildren and 18 great grandchildren.