Samuel Terrell Lankford—my Daddy—liked to say he’d live to be 110, because he still had plenty of people left to piss off. He didn’t make it quite that far, but he filled 93 years with grit, humor, and a whole lot of life. Born in 1926 and gone in 2019, he would have turned 100 today, March 26, 2026. To honor his centennial, I’m sharing a walk through his life in photos, decade by decade—a hundred years of stories in the face of one man. Happy 100th birthday in Heaven, Daddy—we’re celebrating you today!
1940s
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Daddy with his sister Alice on the right |
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Boot camp, U.S. Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, 1944 |
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Daddy is on the right end in the left photo |
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Daddy (center) worked for his uncle Jerry Gregory at Gregory Plumbing and was trained by the man on the right |
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Mama (Fay), my sister Bonita, and Daddy |
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Daddy and Bonita |
1950s
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Daddy and Mama with my sisters Bonita and Jennifer |
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Daddy with Bonita and Jennifer |
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Bonita, Jennifer, and Daddy holding me |
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Mama and Daddy on the right |
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Celebrating my 2nd great grandmother Martha (Ogle) Shields on her 88th birthday—front center—with Bonita, Mama holding me, Daddy holding Michael, and Jennifer gathered around her |
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Daddy and Daisy (Shields) Vest (my granny) |
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Daddy and Michael |
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Daddy with his siblings and parents at the old Lankford home place in Penfield: Liz, Lucile, Grandma (Floria), Grandpa (Carroll Sr.), Alice, and Betty, Sport (Carroll Jr.), Grover, Clark, and Daddy |
1960s
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My uncle Grover; Uncle Clark holding me on the left and Michael on the right; my Grandma Lankford; Bonita; Daddy; and Jennifer |
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Daddy with his children: me, Jennifer, Michael, Vanessa, and Bonita |
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Jennifer, Vanessa, Michael, Daddy, me, and Bonita at the Lankford home place in Penfield |
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Me, Jennifer, Daddy, and Michael at Grant Park in Atlanta |
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Daddy, Vanessa, Michael, and Jennifer |
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Me and Daddy, taken at our Macon Drive house in Atlanta |
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Taken at our Macon Drive house in Atlanta |
1970s
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Uncle Ralph Epps, Daddy, Michael, Uncle Clark, and Grandpa Lankford at Bairdstown Cemetery after Grandma’s burial |
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My cousin Tim Griffith, Uncle Lawrence Griffith, and Daddy |
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Daddy with grandsons Brian and Jonathan Streetman at our Macon Drive house |
1980s
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Lankford siblings: Liz, Betty, Alice, Lucile, Sport, Clark, Grover, and Daddy |
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Wife Louise (my stepmother), grandson Chris Murphy, and Daddy in front of the White House, Washington, DC |
1990s
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Celebrating the birthday of Willie B., Zoo Atlanta’s silverback gorilla for 39 years. The zoo built a giant ice‑cream sundae on rows of conference tables, and we watched them fill it with ice cream and toppings before everyone got to enjoy it. |
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Daddy with our dog Barney. After our dog Murph died, my young son asked if he could “die for a little while” so he could go see his dog again. When I told Daddy the story, he brought Barney to us—and Barney always remembered him when he visited. |
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Grandson Kevin Murphy, Uncle Clark, grandson Chris Murphy, and Daddy |
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Daddy and grandson Kevin Murphy on the left, and Daddy holding the Scarlett O’Hara figurine he received for his birthday on the right—he loved Gone With the Wind. |
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Daddy in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics |
2000s
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A happy day for Daddy at lunch with his family at Anne & Bill’s in Forest Park |
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Aunt Lucile, Uncle Sport, and Daddy |
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With grandsons Chris Lankford on the left and Chris Murphy on the right (the photo with Chris Murphy was taken at Daddy’s 80th birthday party) |
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Daddy, me, Bonita, Jennifer, Vanessa, and Michael |
2010s
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Daddy and granddaughter Nikki Lankford |
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Me, Daddy, Bonita, and Jennifer after lunch at the Atlanta State Farmers Market Restaurant |
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Daddy at a rehabilitation center after he broke his elbow |
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Daddy, granddaughter Emily, and Jennifer celebrating Christmas |
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Daddy and grandson Chris Murphy on the left; Daddy on the right—both at Autum Village Assisted Living |
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Daddy and Jennifer on the left; Daddy and Vanessa on the right—both at Christian City Nursing Home |
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Celebrating his 90th birthday at Christian City Nursing Home (I remember he didn’t want to be there that day) |
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Me, Daddy, Jennifer, Michael, and Vanessa |
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Daddy celebrating his 93rd birthday at Christian City Nursing Home |
Today, Daddy rests at Bairdstown Cemetery, surrounded by his parents, his brothers and sisters—Lucile, Sport, Alice, and Clark—along with the wider circle of Lankford family who share that patch of earth, including a niece, a nephew, and several in‑laws. For years, he donated money to help with the cemetery’s upkeep, a tradition I now continue each year in honor of his birthday. One hundred years later, the best of him lives in the people who loved him.
