Steven Terry Surratt

Steven Terry Surratt went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Sunday, April 10, 2022. Steve’s services are scheduled for Sunday, April 24, 2022, at 2:00 p.m., in the chapel of McCullough Funeral Home, Warner Robins, Georgia, with visitation beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Reverend Timothy G. Millwood will celebrate Steve’s life. The service will be streamed live via the McCullough Funeral Home Facebook page (www.facebook.com/mcculloughfuneralhome/live/) for those unable to attend in person.

Steve was born on August 31, 1946, in Salisbury, North Carolina, to Lettie Louise Yarborough Surratt Wise and J.D. Surratt. As a young boy, Steve was baptized at the Calvary Baptist Church in Ellis Cross Roads, North Carolina. He attended school in Spencer, North Carolina, where he was active in Little League baseball, track, football, and playing drums in the marching band. In 1965, Steve joined the United States Air Force. His first assignments were in Texas where he met the love of his life, Constance (Connie) Sue Karr, in Amarillo, Texas. Within months, they became engaged, and he was reassigned to Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts. On July 16, 1966, he and Connie were married at the Westover AFB chapel. Two days shy of one year later, their oldest daughter, Sherri Marie Surratt Alderson, was born at Westover AFB. Two years after that, their second daughter, Angela Michelle Surratt, was born on August 2, 1969, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. On July 1, 1972, their youngest daughter, Sheila Louise Surratt, was born at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, completing their family. During his first year of service at Westover AFB, Steve was named Airman of the Month.

Steve’s Air Force career spanned 20 years, the first 10 of which he served in an administrative capacity supporting the war in Vietnam with assignments to Guam, Okinawa, and the Philippines. In 1973, he received an assignment to Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico, during which he served a one-year remote tour in Alaska. Upon his return to Cannon AFB in 1975, Steve transitioned in his career field to a ground safety specialist and developed the Motorcycle Safety Program for Tactical Air Command and received the Safety Award of the Year for the Command. As a result of this award for his safety expertise, he was assigned as the Ground Safety Director for the 3503rd Recruiting Group Headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, where he served until retirement in 1985.

Shortly after arriving in Warner Robins, Steve and his family became members of First Baptist Church of Centerville in Centerville, Georgia, where he was ordained as a deacon in 1987. In 1990, Steve and Connie, along with 12 other individuals, started a Southern Baptist Mission and became the charter members of that church, naming it Friendship Baptist Church, where they remain members. Steve served Christ in many capacities both inside and outside the church, be it the Men’s Ministry, the Safety Team, or in any way he could serve Christ. To Steve, church was a verb, not a noun.

In March 1986, Steve began working for Blue Bird Bus Company in Fort Valley, Georgia, and served in capacities of Field Service, School Bus Regional Sales Manager, Quality, and finally, Commercial Bus Sales Regional Manager. He retired from Blue Bird in 2001 and began his own consulting business. He became fully retired in 2003 and began working tirelessly for God by charitably helping others who needed trees cut down, moving assistance, or any kind of handyman work. In 2005, he joined the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief team that went to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to clean up the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as well as other hurricane disaster cleanups. In 2010, in search of a broader opportunity to serve others, Steve met with a former Center Commander of Robins Air Force Base Air Logistics Center, Maj Gen (Ret) Rondal Smith, who suggested that he support Robins AFB’s Airman’s Attic. The Airman’s Attic is a non-profit center where donated furniture, clothing, and other household items are made available at no charge to Airmen and their families. Steve remembered the stress and worry of being an airman with a young family who needed essential household items. The Airman’s Attic became one of his greatest legacies that generated Steve’s most treasured nickname, Mr. Airman’s Attic.

Steve was preceded in death by his parents, Lettie and JD Surratt, and his brother, Charlie Thomas Surratt. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Connie Sue Surratt; his three daughters, Sherri (Robert) Alderson of Conyers, Georgia; Michelle Goetz of Portland, Oregon; and Sheila Surratt of Warner Robins; two granddaughters, and six grandsons. Steve loved every member of his family including the many dogs he rescued over his lifetime.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to The Chavis House which provides for the needs of burn victims’ families who must stay near Doctors Hospital Burn Center in Augusta. You can make these donations by going to www.burnfoundation.net and clicking the ‘Donate’ button. Then ‘Add a message’ to specify that your donation should be allocated to The Chavis House, in memoriam of Steven Terry Surratt.

Learn about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.