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The ADVANCE, December 1, 2021/Page 8A
Obituaries
Mr. Ollie Foskey
Mr. Ollie Joe Foskey,
age 77, of the Meeks Com
munity, died on Thursday,
November 25, 2021, at
Memorial Health Univer
sity Medical Center in Sa
vannah.
Mr. Foskey was born
in Laurens County and
attended school in Scott
and Adrian. He lived and
worked as a private paint
ing contractor in Central
Florida for a number of
years before returning
to Laurens County. He
lived in East Dublin and
worked for Zeigler Paint
ing in Dublin before start
ing his own company, Pro
Kote Painting, which he
ran until 2002. He was
a motor grader operator
for Johnson County and
retired in 2019. He was a
founding member and the
last living member of the
Dixie Caravan, a Gospel
Bluegrass band that trav
eled and played in Georgia,
South Carolina, Florida
and Alabama. He played
lead guitar, the mandolin
and was the lead singer.
He was a member of the
Emanuel Assembly of God
before becoming the Gar
den of Prayer Assembly of
God. He was preceded in
death by his parents, Ollie
and Mattie Belle Flanders
Foskey; 1 brother, Danny
Foskey; and 1 sister, LaRay
Johnson.
Survivors include
his wife of 22 years, Viv
ian Phillips Foskey, Meeks
Community; his children,
Rhonda Foskey (Mike
Tanner), Meeks Com
munity, Janilene Clark,
Lothair, and Jessica Dur
den (Jason), Soperton;
his grandchildren, Hunter,
Allissia, Havin, Maddison,
DaLanie and Tenley; great
grandchildren, Ashton and
Carson; and several nieces
and nephews.
Funeral services were
conducted on Sunday,
November 28, 2021, at
2:00 p.m., in the Williams
Chapel of Sammons Fu
neral Home, with Rev. L.T.
Logue and Thurman Fos
key officiating. Interment
followed in Carter’s Cha
pel Cemetery in Johnson
County.
Pallbearers were Jason
Durden, Travis Beasley,
Matthew Tereul, Hugh Fo
skey, Christopher Jordan
and Montana Foskey.
Sammons Funeral
Home in Soperton was in
charge of arrangements.
Mr. Bryson Frost
Mr. Bryson Frost, age
86, of Glenwood, died
on Friday, November 26,
2021, at Navicent Health
in Macon.
Mr. Frost was born
in Laurens County and
attended Lowery High
School. He lived in Jack
sonville, FL, for a short
time before returning to
Wheeler County. He was
a lifelong carpenter and
cabinet maker. He worked
for many years with Dud
ley Cabinet before retir
ing in 2012. He had at
tended Faith Tabernacle in
Treutlen County and most
recently worshipped at the
Alamo Church of God.
He was preceded in death
by his parents, John Clin
ton Frost and Maudie Lee
Etheridge Frost; 1 son, Da
vid B. Frost; and 3 broth
ers, Howard, Johnnie and
Wilmer Frost.
Survivors include his
wife of 64 years, Alma
Frost, Glenwood; 1 son,
Ronnie A. Frost, Glen
wood; his siblings, Eugene
Frost (Rosa), Dublin,
Franklin Frost (Joyce),
Dublin, William Frost
(Nancy), Eastman, Jimmy
Frost (Ann), Jacksonville,
FL, Doris Frost, Perry, and
Frances Purser, Loganville;
1 granddaughter, Jennifer
Smith; 2 great-grandchil
dren, Calla Lee and Evie
Lee; and many nieces and
nephews.
A graveside funeral
service will be conducted
on Thursday, December 2,
2021, at 1:00 p.m., in Beu
lah Baptist Church Ceme
tery. His family will receive
friends at the graveside.
Sammons Funeral
Home in Soperton was in
charge of arrangements.
Amber
continued from page 5A
her and wiping the inside
of her mouth with damp
swabs to provide some hy
dration. We kept vigil at
her side and prepared for
what the parade of hospice
nurses referred to as “her
transition.”
She had been uncon
scious for several days
when late one night, as I
grabbed my purse to go
home, I turned and saw
Margaret looking at me —
eyes wide open.
“Hey,” I said somewhat
startled.
“Hello, Amber,” she
said.
My husband and I
rushed to her side and held
her hands.
“Are you thirsty?” my
husband asked a moment
later.
She nodded, and so he
held a straw up to her lips
and she managed to sip
a little water. We looked
in the mini refrigerator in
her room and found some
pudding cups. That night,
I watched my husband feed
his mother chocolate pud
ding, one loving spoon
ful at a time, like a mother
feeding a baby oatmeal.
“How is it?” he asked.
“Delicious,” she said
with a smile.
For two hours, we talk
ed with her, we laughed,
and we cried a little, all the
while wondering if all the
talk about “the end of Mar
garet’s life” had been a ter
rible mistake. After a while,
she told us she was tired
and closed her eyes. She fell
fast asleep, and we left and
From the Record
THE BLOTTER
These are the reported
arrests from the Toombs
County Sheriff's Office,
the Vidalia and Lyons
police departments,
and the Montgomery
County Sheriff's Office
for the past week.
Incidents are taken
directly from police
files. All suspects are
innocent until proven
guilty.
In Lyons...
The Lyons Police
Department Police
Report was unavail
able at presstime.
In Toombs
County...
The Toombs
County Sheriff's De
partment Police Re
port was unavailable
at presstime.
In Montgomery
County...
• Jason Patrick
Wallis, of Ocilla, was
arrested on Novem
ber 24 and charged
with Speeding, Driv
ing w/Suspended Li
cense, Suspended
Registration.
• Glenn Edward
Sharpe, of Mount
Vernon,was arrested
on November 25 and
charged with Felony
Probation Violation.
• Jairo R. Romero,
of Twin City, was ar
rested on November
26 and charged with
Speeding, Driving
While Unlicensed.
In Vidalia...
• Anthony M.
Mincey, of Lyons,
was arrested on No
vember 23 and
charged with War
rant Served.
• Isaac Lee Tol
bert, of Vidalia, was
arrested on Noveb-
mer 23 and charged
with Warrant Served.
• Antonio Devon
Knowles, of Vidalia,
was arrested on No
vember 27 and
charged with Home
Invasion / Sexual Bat
tery / Aggravated
Assault / Simple Bat-
tert / Criminal Tres
pass.
• Kayla M.
Leggett, of Vidalia,
was arrested on No
vember 27 and
charged with Finan
cial Transaction Card
Fraud / Poss of Drug
Related Objects /
Possesseion of Meth-
amphetamines.
Letter
continued from page 5A
were delivered to those
unable to get to the event
in person. Over 100 plates
were delivered to nursing
homes and first respond
ers in the police, fire, EMS,
and those on duty in the
local hospital’s emergency
department.
Several people were
involved in cooking and
warming prepared food
the night before the event.
Herschel Mincey opened
hundreds of cans of green
beans and cranberries.
Residents of the Jesus Inn
rotated in and out of the
kitchen all night helping
diligent Pastor Tina and
Betty Poole cook the souf
fle and assist John Slaton
(from St. Marys) cook the
mashed potatoes. Geral
dine Jones was up all night
assisting and cooking
green beans. John Spran-
gel, Tina’s assistant, and
Rob Roy McGregor baked
67 trays of dressing in First
United Methodist Church
of Vidalia’s kitchen. Vi
dalia High School’s Tina
Wheeler & crew heated
the turkey trays and made
the giblet gravy early in
the morning in the Vidalia
High School kitchen. Then
they were all gathered and
returned to the Storehouse
to be rewarmed before
serving. It was a citywide
effort!
Director Houser had
planned to feed 1,800
people this year. Last year
1,676 guests attended the
event. This year the num
ber decreased to 1,515.
This was most likely due to
COVID restrictions being
lifted and families being
able to get back together
with their own dinners.
(Check with the center if
you would like a frozen
pan of the leftover food.)
The coordination and
generosity of the commu
nity, to make this dinner
happen, was staggering. It
all began back in October.
Randy Deloach Farms
donated a pickup-truck
load of sweet potatoes.
Tommy Proctor stored the
potatoes. Residents of the
Jesus Inn and volunteers
Bob Smith, Willie Mincey,
and Carolyn Greenwood,
peeled, boiled, and pre
pared 60 of the large deep-
dish pans of sweet pota
toes for the souffle.
Ashley Crump, staff
and students of J.D. Dick
erson Primary School pro
vided hundreds of cans of
Carnation milk and cran
berries, as well as boxed
Jiffy Mix corn bread. Dot
Foods was so gracious
once again. They stored
all the uncooked turkeys
in their freezers for us and
patiently allowed us to get
24 turkeys a day to cook.
Dot Foods also donated
cases of dinner rolls, green
beans, butter, potatoes,
and desserts. Sam Page
of Copper Construction
Inc. purchased most of the
supplies, including 150
turkeys, sausage for the
dressing, Corn Flakes and
coconut for the sweet po
tato souffle, cakes, and tea.
Sam stated that “Whenev
er he blesses us by buying
whatever the Storehouse
needs, his business takes
off!” Generation Farms
donated 50 pounds of on
ions that were tearfully
peeled and chopped. Lynn
Thompson, of Oxford In
dustries in Lyons, prepared
36 gallons of concentrated
sweet iced tea.
Other donors includ
ed Ameris Bank which
donated pallets of canned
goods. Dot Foods donat
ed $5,000 worth of food
through their Neighbor-
Neighbor program for our
monthly food program.
drove the hour home to our
house with a million ques
tions circling around in our
minds.
The following day,
Margaret had returned to
her comatose state with no
movement or interaction.
The director and hospice
nurse cautioned us not to
get our hopes up, explain
ing that what we had been
privileged to witness the
night before was called “a
rally.” I had never heard the
term before that day.
We respected their
knowledge and experience,
but our brains couldn’t pro
cess it. We couldn’t believe
them. My husband and I
had seen Margaret wake up
with our own eyes. She had
talked with us and laughed
with us. It seemed impos
sible that a dying person
would suddenly “turn on”
and then “turn off” again.
But that is precisely
what happened. Margaret
died a few days later.
I’m glad Hospice
Nurse Julie is making vid
eos that will educate oth
ers about what to expect at
the end of a loved one’s life.
It’s hard to think about and
consider such painful mo
ments, but it is helpful to
know and understand what
could happen. Knowledge
helps our minds prepare.
As for my mother-in-
law’s rally, I feel she gave us
a gift that night — just one
more fond memory and
one final goodbye before
she embarked on her soli
tary journey. And though it
was difficult to understand
and make sense of during
that time, I am so grateful
for that last night — for
that “rally.”
The Vidalia Women of the
Moose Lodge contributed.
Many churches of Vidalia
support God’s Storehouse
all year and are particularly
generous at Thanksgiving.
Liberty Baptist Church
in Lyons, Grace United
Methodist, Vidalia Church
of God, and First Meth
odist Church of Vidalia
were incredibly gracious.
Canned goods drives
were done by J.D. Dicker
son’s young men’s group
(headed up by Michael
Johnson), the Boy Scouts,
and Title Max. Endless pa
trons supported the event
with their time and gen
erous financial contribu
tions.
I know I left out nu
merous people who do
nated canned goods, tur
keys, and cash, but they
all stored up treasures in
heaven for their future. We
thank God that He knows
who did what, because it
is nearly impossible to re
member and acknowledge
all the citizens of Vidalia
that have supported this
effort. Including this paper
and a number of radio sta
tions that advertised this
event.
Our next effort is col
lecting 500 new toys for
Christmas. If you would
like to donate new toys
for children nine years-
old and under, call John or
Tina at (912) 538-1730.
I have never experi
enced a community that
is so giving and empa-
thetic to those society has
forgotten sometimes. By
supporting the mission at
God’s Storehouse & The
Jesus Inn Recovery Center
you are being responsible
kingdom servants and
giving the less-fortunate
hope. We will never know
how many lives we actually
impact.
Thank you, citizens,
churches, businesses, and
schools for practicing
faithful stewardship. “The
King will reply, ‘Truly I tell
you, whatever you did for
the least of these brothers
and sisters of mine, you did
for me” (Matthew 25:40).
We cannot thank all of you
enough but rest assured
that the Father does. It has
been very rough the last
two years, but I pray that
you and yours had much
to be thankful for.
John Sprangel
Assistant to the Director
God’s Storehouse
and The Jesus Inn
Lowry
continued from page 6A
immune to fashionable
left-wing causes. He not
only defused a hot-button
cultural issue — namely,
crime — he campaigned
on it and made it a strength,
an ability that most
national Democrats have
lost as the party has moved
left since 2016.
It’s far too early to
know how his City Hall
tenure will actually turn
out, but Adams has the
qualities and approach
that, in theory, could be
fruitful for Democrats
nationally.
Meanwhile, even if the
GOP is on a roll at the
moment, it shouldn’t get
its hopes up. At the end of
the day, a 2024 Democratic
primary dominated by
Harris and Buttigieg is
probably too good to be
true.
Rich Lowry is editor of the
National Review.
(c) 2021 by King Features
Synd., Inc.
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