Obituaries

Cecil Lee Patrick, 63, died Wednesday, June 26, 2013. [Full Story »] 

Charles H. (Mike) Parker III, 67, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, June 20, 2013. Mike was born on Oct. 1, 1945 and spent most of his early life in Baxley where he met his wife, Brenda, and married on Sept. 11, 1971 at Zoar Baptist Church. Mike was a graduate of Appling County High School and Georgia Southern University. He went on to have a successful career in the finance industry in Savannah where he and Brenda built a wonderful life around their family, church, friends and music. Southern Gospel Music was a cornerstone of Mike’s life from the age of 5 when he started playing the piano. He went on to sing with the Southern Gospel Quartet – The Lordsmen – and was a long-time choir member of Windsor Forest Baptist Church. [Full Story »] 

Jessie Leah Hall Pearson, age 89, of Hazlehurst, died Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at Lumber City Health and Rehab. [Full Story »] 

Joy Johnson Kopp, 82, of Flowery Branch, ended her long goodbye on June 11, 2013. Since retirement, she and her husband, of 62 years, Robert, had lived at the family’s log home on Lake Lanier among all their good ole stuff. Joy was the only child of the late Lt. Colonel James Ellis Johnson and Cornelia Parker Johnson Reeves growing up in Baxley surrounded by a large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. [Full Story »] 

Faye Potter, 78, of Vidalia, died Sunday, June 9, 2013 in the Community Hospice House after a brief illness. She was a native of Jonesboro, Arkansas, and as a child, grew up in Ft. Myers, Florida. She lived in Baxley and Vidalia most of her life. She managed several convenient stores and retired from Magic Market. She was Baptist by faith and was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur Potter, Sr.; son Arthur Potter, Jr.; parents, Burley and Edna Spillman; granddaughter, Kimberly Potter; and two brothers, Pat Spillman and Bob Spillman. [Full Story »] 

J. George Burkhalter, age 36, of Mt. Vernon, died Wednesday, May 29, 2013 in Pierce County. He was a native of Wheeler County and lived in Glenwood and Mt. Vernon all of his life. He was a truck driver, but was a drywall installer most of his life. [Full Story »] 

Lawton Edgar Evans, 84, passed away on May 31, 2013 at St. Joseph’s Hospital. [Full Story »] 

James Franklin Hattrich, 66, died Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at the Appling Healthcare System. James was born April 21, 1947 in Savannah to the late Henry Franklin Hattrich and the late Evelyn Merle Griner Hattrich. He was a veteran of the United States Navy having served in Vietnam and was retired from Gulfstream. Hattrich was a member of Calvary Baptist Church. [Full Story »] 

On Friday, May 24, 2013 angels were dispatched from Heaven to bring a loved one home to suffer no more. Miss Ashley Denise Jones transitioned from earth to glory at the Appling Healthcare System in Baxley. Ashley was born in Baxley (Appling County) on August 16, 1986 to Verdell Hood and attended the Appling County School System. [Full Story »] 

Ronald T. Sheffield, 49, of Monee, Illinois, passed away on May 31, 2013. [Full Story »] 

Robert Lee Swint, Jr., 81, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, died Thursday, June 6, 2013 in West Palm Beach, FL. Swint was born July 17, 1931 in Augusta to the late Robert Lee and Rosa Barksdale Swint. He was a member of Lake Park Baptist Church. Swint was a veteran of the United States Army with 21 years of service. He received the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Army Commendation. He was preceded in death by his wife, JoAnn Swint and a grandson, John Thomas Peterson. [Full Story »]