Tuesday, October 23, 2001



Garry R. Musselman Sr.



TY TY – Garry Ray Musselman Sr., 47, of Ty Ty, died Saturday, Oct. 20, 2001, at his residence.

Graveside services will be held at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Oakridge Cemetery. The Rev. Danny Jones will officiate.

Born Aug. 17, 1954, in Olney, Md., Musselman was the son of John Norman Musselman and Anna Elizabeth Musselman, both deceased. He was also preceded in death by one brother and one sister.

He was a heavy machine operator.

Musselman is survived by his wife, Kay Coppage Musselman of Ty Ty; one son, Garry Ray Musselman Jr. of Pennsylvania; one stepson, Robbie Browning of Ty Ty; one daughter, Tina Lynn Musselman of Texas; one stepdaughter, Amanda Millwood of Ty Ty; five brothers, Robert Musselman of Bunkerhill, W.V., Richard Musselman of Fredrick, Md., Allen Musselman of Westminster, Md., Joe Musselman of Woodsboro, Md., and Johnny Musselman of Sanford, Mich.; two sisters, Barbara Lowe of Woodsboro, Md., and Linda Bruchy of Mount Airy, Md.; and three grandchildren.

Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals is in charge of arrangements.



‘Jack’ Ratcliffe



Thomas Jackson “Jack” Ratcliffe, 85, of Tifton, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001.

Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. today at Trinity United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at Tift Memorial Gardens.

Members of the McCord Sunday School Class will serve as honorary pallbearers and are asked to assemble at the church at 1:15 p.m.

The family will receive friends at the church for one hour prior to the service. The family requests memorials be given to either the American Diabetes Association or Eagle Ranch, P.O. Box 7200, Chestnut Mountain, Ga. 30502.

Born Aug. 20, 1916, in Glynn County, Ratcliffe attended the University of Georgia majoring in plant physiology and received B.S. and master’s degrees.

Following graduation, for a short time, he served as the county agent in Lanier County, where he met and married Mary Frances Moore of Lanier County. The two moved to Tifton in 1945 and he went to work at the Georgia Department of Entomology, which later became a part of the Georgia Department of Agriculture. He retired years later but contined his work with plants and flowers until his health failed.

He was a charter member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Tifton and was active for more than 40 years in all areas of church work.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Frances, in 1997.

Survivors include two sons and daughters-in-law, Thomas J. Jr. and Linda Ratcliffe of Hinesville and David and Cecelia Ratcliffe of Atlanta; one sister, Helen Barnes of Plano, Texas; five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Lovein Funeral Home in Nashville is in charge of arrangements.



‘Thornie’ Fletcher



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Joe Thornton “Thornie” Fletcher, 72, of Jacksonville, formerly of the Fletcher community near Irwinville, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Jacksonville.

Graveside services will be held at 3 p.m. today at Eureka Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Irwinville. The Rev. Elmer Golden Jr. will officiate.

Pallbearers will be Benji Fletcher, Kenny Fletcher, Donnie Griffin, Sol Griffin Jr., Ronald Fletcher and Mark Gustafson (nephews and cousins).

Born March 18, 1929, in Irwinville, Fletcher was the son of Ben Drew Fletcher and Ruby Lee Childs Fletcher, both deceased. He was also preceded in death by his wife, Ometta Whitley Fletcher, who died Feb. 14, 2001, and by one sister, Jessie Griffin.

He had lived in Jacksonville for eight years, moving there from the Fletcher community, and was a retired farmer and ag pilot.

Fletcher attended Irwin County schools and was in the last graduating class at Mystic High School in 1946. He entered the U.S. Navy in 1947 and served on the aircraft carrier USS Leyte during the Korean War. During the early days of space exploration, Fletcher worked for Pan American Airlines, under contract to the Air Force, working in the Bahama Islands Missile Range. Later, he learned to fly and became a crop duster, a job that he dearly loved.

He is survived by





four sons, Rick and daughter-in-law Brenda Fletcher of Irwinville; Mike and daughter-in-law Marsha Fletcher of Panama City, Fla., Joey and daughter-in-law Theresa Fletcher of Alapaha and Todd Fletcher of Savannah; two brothers, Reggie Fletcher of Pleasure Lake and Clair and Vernita Fletcher of Lake Park; one sister, Flo Quinney of Irwinville; five grandchildren, Ricky, Breana, Jodie, Casey and Amber Fletcher; one great-grandchild, Tyler Fletcher; and 11 nieces and nephews.

Albritton-Beaumont Funeral Directors’ Tiftarea Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

Antonio Dixon, 35, of Tacoma, Wash., formerly of Tifton, died Sunday, Oct. 14, 2001, in Washington. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. today at Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, with burial at Greenwood Cemetery. Dixon is survived by his mother, Annette Dixon Pittman of Tifton; three brothers, Aaron Dixon of Tifton, the Rev. Raymond Dixon of Columbus and Hollis Pittman of Calhoun; and two sisters, June Smith and Jeanette Powell, both of Tifton. Southview Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.

Alice Swain Adkison, 91, of Rebecca, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church, with burial at the church cemetery. Mrs. Adkison is survived by four sons, Lester Adkison of Rebecca, Henry Milton Adkison and James Hansel Adkison, both of Albany, and Joe Adkison of Ashburn; two daughters, Jessie Lee Waldron of Bessemer, Ala., and Hazel McElmurray of Rebecca; and three sisters, Lula Mae Hogan and Laura Lewis, both of Fitzgerald, and Clora Jane Stubbs of Newton. Perry Funeral Chapel in Ashburn is in charge of arrangements.

Virtus Golden Rooks, 85, of Lake Yvette Estates West, Fla., died Thursday, Oct. 18, 2001, at Lake Yvette Estates West. Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Monday at the Garden of Memories Chapel in Tampa, Fla., with burial at Garden of Memories Cemetery. Mrs. Rooks is survived by two sons, Lynn Rooks and Kelly Rooks, both of Tampa; and two daughters, Leucretia Stephens of Lake Yvette Estates West and Marleen Marcos of Tampa. McClellan Funeral Home in Bristol, Fla., was in charge of arrangements.

Lesha Anderson of Tifton died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Southview Mortuary.

James Otis Spratlin, 74, of the Lax community in Irwin County, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, at Irwin County Hospital. Graveside services will be held at 2 p.m. today at Lax Community Church Cemetery. Spratlin is survived by his wife, Daphine Gray Spratlin of Lax; one son, Randy Spratlin of Winder; two daughters, Robin Brown of Dacula and Roxanne Griswold of Winder; and one brother, Alvin Spratlin of Woodland, Ala. Paulk Funeral Home in Ocilla is in charge of arrangements.

Kenny R. Powell, 48, of Wray, died Sunday, Oct. 21, 2001, at his residence. Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. today at Paulk Funeral Home Chapel in Ocilla. Powell is survived by his wife, Nadine M. Powell of Wray; his parents, Wayne and Hazel Powell of Wray; two sons, Kenneth A. Powell of Philadelphia and Kevin A. Powell of Jacksonville, Fla.; two stepsons, James E. Belair and Michael E. Belair, both of Tampa, Fla.; one stepdaughter, Sandra M. Jones of Tampa; and two brothers, Larry Powell of Fitzgerald and Richard Powell of Ocilla. Paulk Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Ethel Lee Porter, 90, of Tifton, died Monday, Oct. 22, 2001, at Tift Health Care. Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced by Southview Mortuary.