MOULTRIE – Mike Hamner, an outstanding basketball and tennis player at Norman Park High School and later a tennis player at Abraham Baldwin College and Valdosta State, died Saturday in Covington at the age of 67.

Hamner was a member of the Colquitt County Sports Hall of Fame.

Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. today, Tuesday, April 3, at First Baptist church of Covington, where he served as a deacon.

Former Norman Park High School coach Julian Grantham remembers Hamner excelling on both the basketball and tennis courts and in the classroom.

“He was one of the most outstanding student/athletes to come from Norman Park,” Grantham said this week.

After his college career, he continued to compete at USTA events.

Born Feb. 7, 1951, in Tifton, Hamner was raised in Norman Park and from 1965-1969 starred on the Trojans basketball and tennis teams, being named the team’s most valuable player in both sports.

When asked about Hamner before he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008, Grantham said he remembers the young player’s dedication to tennis, practicing with teammate Bobby May before school, during physical education class and then for three hours after school.

Hamner received scholarships to ABAC in both sports, but after his freshman season concentrated on tennis.

As a freshman, he was the Georgia Junior College Athletic Association champion in singles and was on the runner-up doubles team. The following year, he was on the doubles championship team and was runner-up in singles.

At Valdosta State, he was the Blazers most valuable player as a junior.

After serving in the U.S. Army, he returned to Valdosta State and played No. 1 singles and doubles for the Blazers.

In USTA events, he won some 90 singles and 125 doubles titles. In 1984, he was elected president of the Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association.

Hamner earned his master’s degree in behavior disorders at Georgia Southern and his certification in related vocational instruction at Georgia State.

He retired in 2008 as the RVI coordinator for the Newton County schools.

He was named the Teacher of the Year at Rockdale’s Memorial Middle School in 1997 and was the 2005 Teacher of the Year in Newton County.

Hamner worked extensively with Special Olympics and volunteered in other activities for handicapped students.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years, Sheryl; daughter and son-in-law Ashley and Josh Franklin of Covington; son and daughter-in-law Justin and Ericka Hamner of Hampton; son Brad of Covington; sister and brother-in-law Linda and Hank Meders of Omega; brother Kenny Hamner of Tifton; and two grandchildren.