Obituaries for March 12, 2005
Published 12:41 pm Wednesday, December 7, 2005
Juliette L. Rich
BAINBRIDGE — Juliette Lane Rich, 79, of Bainbridge, died Friday, March 11, 2005, at her residence. Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Sunday at First Presbyterian Church in Bainbridge. Dr. Gerald A. Little will officiate. Burial will follow in Oak City Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at her residence.
Mrs. Rich was born Sept. 10, 1925, in Americus. She was the daughter of Rufus and Mary Sue Lane, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Robert Lloyd Rich, Jr.
Mrs. Rich graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1942 and attended Huntington College. She was a past-president of the Elcan-King PTO, a Girl Scout leader for two troops and a Cub Scout den mother.
Mrs. Rich was an avid golfer and bridge player and enjoyed nature, especially birds. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church where she was a choir member, Sunday School and Bible School teacher, a former president of the Women of the Church and a member of the Circle.
Survivors include two sons, Bob Rich of Bainbridge and Joe Rich of Atlanta; two daughters, Judy Rich Simpson of Tifton and Sue Rich Hale of Sandy Springs; one sister, Georgia Lane Rich of Tallahassee, Fla.; eight grandchildren, Juliette Simpson of Atlanta, Elena Simpson Thompson of LaGrange, Jessica Rich Cannon of Bainbridge, Robert Rich of Tallahassee, Fla., Ashly Smith Cox, Adam Smith, Hunter Rich and Carson Rich, all of Atlanta; three great-grandchildren, Morgan Cannon and Halle Cannon, both of Bainbridge, and lane Thomas of LaGrange.
Ivey Funeral Home, Inc., Bainbridge, is in charge of arrangements.
Gracia Sarabia Pina
OMEGA — Gracia Sarabia Pina, 87, of Omega, died Thursday, March 10, 2005, at her residence. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today in the chapel of Albritton-Beaumont Funeral Directors with Father Juan Lopez officiating. Burial will follow in the First Baptist Church of Ty Ty Cemetery.
Reyes Pina Jr., Jose Garcia, Miguel Macias, Juan Macias, Pat Dimas Jr., and Rafael Macias will serve as pallbearers.
Mrs. Pina was born on Oct. 20, 1917, in Hondo, Texas, to Cleofas Sarabia and Simona Moncada Sarabia, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Jose Pina, who died in 1987, and a brother and a sister.
Mrs. Pina had lived in Tift County since 1972. She was a homemaker and a member of Our Divine Saviour Catholic Church. She enjoyed being with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren and loved to garden when her health permitted.
Mrs. Pina is survived by a son, Reyes Pina of Tifton; three daughters, Francisca Macias of Omega, Josefina Dimas of Plant City, Fla., and Juanita Vargas of Omega; one brother, Ramon Sarabia of Rochester, Texas; 10 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Albritton-Beaumont Funeral Directors-Tiftarea Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Gary C. Tankersley
OCILLA — Gary C. Tankersley, 60, of Ocilla, died Wednesday, March 9, 2005, at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. today at Ocilla Baptist Church. The Rev. Gerald Thomas will officiate. Burial will follow at Frank Cemetery.
Mr. Tankersley was born May 9, 1944, in Lincolnton to the late Clinton and Maudine Holloway Tankersley. He graduated from Lincoln County High School in 1962, from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in 1964 and from the University of Georgia in 1966. He then moved to Irwin County.
Mr. Tankersley retired as director of the Irwin County Extension Office in 1997 after 32 years of service and was a recipient of the Extension Service’s Prestigious D.W. Brooks Award. He was most recently employed by the Citizens Security Bank as an Agricultural Consultant. He was a board member for the Irwin County Farm Bureau, past Rotary Club President, Secretary and a Paul Harris Fellow. He was also past-president of the Ocilla-Irwin County Chamber of Commerce where he was awarded Citizen of the Year.
Mr. Tankersley was also a Housing Authority board member, a library board member, and a member of the board of directors for Sunnydale Training Center and a member of the Ben Hill-Irwin Retired Teachers Association. He received the J. Lamar Branch Award for Outstanding Agricultural Leadership in 1999 from the ABAC Alumni Association.
In 2001, the University of Georgia Ag-Alumni gave Mr. Tankersley an Award of Excellence and in 1982, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Georgia Association of County Agricultural Agents. He was a member and past chairman of deacons at Ocilla Baptist Church and a Sunday School teacher. He was an avid fisherman and a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Mr. Tankersley is survived by his wife, Shirley Broom Tankersley of Ocilla; children and spouses, Morris and Marcy Tankersley of Tifton, Nan and Cory Vassey of Ocilla, Tammie and Joe Sanford, Fitzgerald, and Michael Tankersley, Ocilla; grandchildren, Rob Vassey, Cole Vassey and Ally Tankersley; and a brother and sister, Carl Tankersley of Twin City and Annette Neal of Lincolnton.
The family request that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to the Gary C. Tankersley Scholarship Fund at Citizens Security Bank, P.O. Box 165, 200 S. Irwin Ave., Ocilla, GA 31774 or to Ocilla Baptist Church, P.O. Box 101, Ocilla, GA 31774.
To sign the online guest registry for Mr. Tankersley, see the Web site www.paulkfuneralhome.com. Paulk Funeral Home in Ocilla is in charge of arrangements.