Thomas Wayne Rea, age 49, of Jacksonville, Arkansas passed from this life on April 9, 2026. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 30, 1976 to Tommy & Jean Rea.
He was preceded in death by his father Thomas “Tommy” White Rea; his Uncle Johnny Smith and Aunt Vera; Aunt Lucille Smith; and his cousin Susie Smith Byrd.
He is survived by his mother Jean Smith Rea; his sister Michelle Rea Hatfield (James); his Uncle Jim White (Lynette); his Uncle Charley Smith; cousins Terry Smith, Jerry Smith (Ruthie), Glenn Smith (Melissa), Barry Byrd, Donna Smith Aven (Butch), Mary Smith Riley (Dennis), Lynne Smith Klinger (Paul); his beloved friend Tajwanna Hudson; a large extended family and a diverse group of friends.
Tommy Wayne loved the outdoors. He enjoyed camping, gardening, and fishing with friends and family. He was a highly skilled photographer and excelled at photographing nature. He spent several years as a storm chaser with the Central Arkansas Storm Chasers capturing Arkansas’s weather. He also used his photography talent to capture the action of his Cricket team – the Little Rock Cricket Club. He had a lifelong love of aviation, faithfully serving as a member of Civil Air Patrol for over 20 years. He enjoyed all types of music and loved making songs to share. He enjoyed playing Native American songs on the Native American flutes he collected. He also performed as DJ T-Rea, sharing his love of music around Central Arkansas. He has been a Wal-Mart associate since 2002.
Visitation will be held on Tuesday, April 14, 2026 from 6:00-8:00pm in the chapel at A Natural State Funeral Service. Graveside Service will follow on Wednesday, April 15, 2026 at 1:00pm at Johnson Cemetery in Fair Oaks, Arkansas.
Arrangements by A Natural State Funeral Service 2620 West Main Street, Jacksonville, Arkansas 72076. 501-982-3400. Online guestbook available at www.anaturalstatefuneralservice.com
8 Comments
Tommy was a great Man,I enjoyed listening to him play the Native Flute
I chased more than a few ELTs with Tommy and his father while in the Civil Air Patrol. He was a dedicated member that I enjoyed working with a lot.
Jean and Michelle,
My heart is broken. Wayne and John II spent from 1st grade to last week, 40+ years hanging out. He was such a great friend to us all. He will be greatly missed. Our prayers and thoughts are with you as you navigate through your loss.
Worked with him for many moons at 1105 will be missed so sorry for your loss rest in peace gone but not forgotten
I’ve worked with Tommy the past 7 years, and we often talked about playing music. We shared a love for Blues music. I will miss our conversations deeply. I send my deepest condolences and prayers of comfort to his family.
Tommy was an asset who went out at 2 o’clock in the morning with his father and I while tracking down ELTs. He was energetic and determined when assigned a task that needed to be taken care of. He worked with our Civil Air Patrol cadets, teaching them what he had learned as a cadet years before. Tommy is missed and will be remembered years from now.
Tommy, I’m going to miss you my friend! I’ve enjoyed working with you ALLLL these years and I’ll definitely miss our talks about weight lifting!
Jean, I am SO sorry to learn of Tommy’s passing. My heart goes out to you and your family.
Comments are closed.