Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. JULY 12. 2007 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 9A
Obituaries
V.
Mr. E.D. Fitts
Mr. Edward D. “Josh” Fitts,
age 85 of Jasper, passed away
suddenly Friday, June 29, 2007
at his residence.
Survivors include his wife,
Lorraine Fitts, Jasper; sons and
daughters-in-law, James and
Annette Fitts and Ralph and
Kim Fitts, all of Jasper; daugh
ter, Jan Stephens, Jasper; sister,
Frankie McAfee, Jasper; grand
children, Josh Fitts, Brad
Stephens, and Cody Beneford-
Fitts; and great-grandchildren,
Jacob Fitts, Alyssa Duncan and
Cole Stephen.
The funeral service was held
Sunday, July 1 at 2 p.m. from
the Long Swamp Baptist
Church with the Revs. Charles
O. Walker and Tim Logan offi
ciating. Interment was in the
church cemetery. Pallbearers
were: Jimmy Cochran, Eric
Ledford, Brett (Bubba)
Holcomb, Andy Kelley, Luke
Copeland, Jeff Roland, Terry
Gibson and Mark Maddox. The
family did accept flowers or
memorials may be made to the
American Cancer Society or to
the Disabled American Veterans
organization. Cagle Funeral
Home in charge of the arrange
ments.
www.caglefuneralhome.com
Ola Byess
Mrs. Ola Mae Byess, age 89
of Jasper, passed away Friday,
June 29, 2007 at Grandview
Health Care Center.
Survivors include her son
and daughter-in-law, Glenn and
Peggy Byess, Irmo, S.C.;
daughters and sons-in-law,
Helen Pace and Margrett and
Gene Stewart, all of Jasper, and
Jo and Terry Mixson,
Woodstock. Six grandchildren
and eight great-grandchildren
also survive.
The funeral service was held
Sunday, July 1 at 2 p.m. from
the Chapel of Cagle Funeral
Home with the Rev. Steve
Hearn officiating. Interment fol
lowed in Corinth Baptist
Cemetery. Pallbearers were:
Alvin Stewart, Jeff and Andrew
Byess, Mark Gramling and
Wayne Carmichael.
www.caglefuneralhome.com
Bessie Mulkey
Mrs. Bessie Wooten Mulkey,
age 83 of Jasper, Ga., passed
Monday, July 9, 2007 at
Wildwood Nursing Home in
Talking Rock, Ga. following a
period of declining health.
Born Sept. 14, 1923 in
Pickens County, she was the
daughter of the late Wilburn and
Mary Josephine Wooten. Mrs.
Mulkey was a homemaker and
of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include her hus
band, John J. Mulkey, Jasper;
daughters, Rosa Taylor and
Patsy Duffer, both of New
Boston, Tx.; Willie Mae
Holcomb, Hinton; Mary Lou
Hendrix and Jean Jewett, both
of Ranger, Ga., Ruth Richards
and Trudy Henderson, both of
Jasper; sons, Charles Mulkey,
Tate, Wayne Mulkey, Dawson,
Ga., and Ronnie Mulkey,
Talking Rock. Eighteen grand
children, 27 great-grandchildren
and one great-great-grandchild
also survives.
The funeral service was held
at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 11
from the Chapel of Roper
Funeral Home with the Rev.
Jerry Banks officiating.
Interment followed in Lake
Forest Memorial Park.
Pallbearers were: Justin
Henderson, Cody Hudson, Ryan
and Doug Harper, Scott and
Nick Richards and B.J. Hendrix.
Ruby Murray
After 87 years in the si
years
spot
light, the curtain fell on Ruby
Elizabeth Johnson Murray on
June 28, 2007. Her last few
months of life were not easy.
Those who loved her pray
that as she slipped away in her
sleep, she was dreaming of the
beautiful world prepared for her
by a doting Father. In such a
place, she will no doubt be seat-
Remembering Lee Etta Ligon
By Jean Curran
During the six-day run of
L’il Abner which opens on July
13, a familiar and beloved face
will be missing. Just three
weeks prior to the opening date,
Tater Patch Players lost one of
its founders and the individual
who has been the organization’s
guiding spirit for 30 years, Lee
Etta Ligon. It is appropriate that
we who knew her, worked with
her and benefited from her tal
ent and leadership stop a
moment to remember this
remarkable lady.
Tater Patch Players has
never had a permanent home.
We have always been like a
band of “raggle taggle gypsies,”
drawing up our caravans wher
ever we could get permission,
reluctant though that permis
sion sometimes was. From the
earliest years it was Lee Etta
who accepted the hardships our
homelessness placed on us and
helped us to rise above them.
She was everywhere. She was a
consummate actress and regu
larly stole the show with her
delightful characterizations.
Who can forget her perform
ance as Bloody Mary in South
Pacific?
As enjoyable as “treading
the boards” with her was, it was
her directing skills that were so
important to us. She taught us
stagecraft and she shared with
players and audiences alike her
gift for turning ordinary per
formance into theater magic.
Amateur thespians are no less
prone to histrionics, swollen
egos, disagreements, almost
pathological fears, crises of
confidence than professional
actors and actresses. Lee Etta
mothered us. She mediated our
disputes, smoothed ruffled
feathers, bound up our wounds,
both real and imagined, and
through it all made us believe
that we could accomplish any
thing. She could scold with one
hand and pat us on the back
with the other and make us
appreciate both experiences.
And when the show threatened
to fall apart, as they did with
some regularity, we simply
turned to Lee Etta. We knew
she could fix it, and fix it she
did.
It would have been easy to
give up during those early
struggles, but giving up was an
alien concept to Lee Etta. Quite
simply, during at least the first
half of Tater Patch’s existence,
Lee Etta Ligon was the glue
that held the organization
together. It is doubtful that we
would be celebrating 30 years
of continuous live theater in
Pickens County if she had not
been on hand to prod and
encourage us to keep going.
She helped us to hold on until
we could welcome new talent,
new skills and new audiences.
We in the Tater Patch family
feel her loss deeply.
But there is a larger consid
eration. Every year the arts
become more and more impor
tant in Pickens County - the
fine arts represented by all the
painters and sculptors who are
taking up residence among us,
the music represented by the
individuals and groups who
have emerged from here as well
as the superior quality of the
music programs in our schools
and live theater. How many
small rural counties in the
South can boast of 30 years of
continuous live theater? The
arts are the most obvious ingre
dients of our culture; they great
ly affect our quality of life. Her
work in this distinctive and
meaningful area of our culture
was a gift that she lovingly and
generously gave to her commu
nity. Because of her leadership
in keeping theater alive in
Pickens County, Lee Etta
deserves the gratitude of the
entire county.
Lee Etta contributed her tal
ent and leadership in two differ
ent service areas that affect us
all - her directorship of the
kindergarten program at the
First Baptist Church for 21
years as well as her enormous
contribution to the arts. Either
of these feats of leadership
could gamer her the praise and
admiration of the community,
but this strong, talented lady
accomplished both. Rest well,
Dear Friend, your legacy is
secure. You have our love, our
gratitude and our applause -
better still, make that a standing
ovation.
ed under the spreading branches
of a great magnolia, surrounded
by scores of handsome admir
ers.
Lovely and charming, Ruby
also had a quick wit and never
shied away from an argument,
though always with a laugh. She
took tremendous pleasure in
taking contrary positions. She
was proud of having been a
Republican in the South far
ahead of her time, and one of
the founding members of the
Rossville Federation of
Republican Women’s Clubs.
Being opinionated and head
strong served her well in the
many leadership positions she
took in her life. She served as
president, vice president and
chaplain of the Tsikamagi
Garden Club as well as presi
dent of the Women’s Society of
Christian Service of the Dalton
District. As a Gray Lady and
Children’s Helper at Baroness
Erlanger Hospital, she put her
faith into action.
A passionate traveler and
reader, Ruby journeyed to
Europe in 1966. She always
remained interested in the
world, its people and cultures,
but her greatest pride and joy
was her family. From her 65-
year marriage to Gilbert Lewis
Murray (deceased in 2001), she
had two children, five grand
children and six great-grand
children. She could recite the
litany of their many accom
plishments, travels and educa
tional achievements with gusto.
She blazed the trail for those
generations to view themselves
as part of the world beyond their
home towns and we owe much
to her sense of possibility and
wonder. Of all her legacies - of
faith, leadership and intelli
gence - she might be most proud
of this. Speaking of her family,
those who survive her are a
daughter, Carolyn Murray
Jenkins and husband Hoyt, and
their children, Dale and Cheri’
Cole Jenkins, David and Gwenn
Brown Jenkins, Beth Jenkins
Stubbings and husband Kyle;
son, Gary and Carol Long
Murray, and their children,
Gregory and Charlotte Smith
Murray, Lisa Murray Schultz
and husband Fred; six great
grandchildren; a brother, John
C. Johnson; and sisters-in-law,
nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be
held Thursday, July 12 at the
Tennessee-Georgia Memorial
Park, 724 Hogan Road,
Rossville, Ga. at 11 a.m. Family
and friends are invited to join us
there. In lieu of flowers, dona
tions can be made to the
Senior/Nutrition Center at 44
Fourteenth St., Chickamauga,
Ga. 30707, if desired.
Ruby Ellis
Mrs. Ruby “Sallie” Kathryn
Ellis, age 65 of Fairmount, Ga.,
departed this life Thursday,
June 27, 2007 at the Hamilton
Medical Center in Dalton, Ga.
She was born Nov. 24, 1941 in
Cherokee County, Tx.
She was preceded in death
by her father, James Hoyt Ellis.
Survivors include her moth
er, Dora Mae Ellis; son, Junior
Allen Ellis; grandchildren,
Michael Allen Ellis, Allen
Junior Ellis and Matthew Adam
Ellis, all of Fairmount; brothers
and sisters-in-law, Lonzo and
Sandra Ellis, Cleveland, Ga.,
and Roy and Audrey Ellis,
Fairmount; sisters, Alice House
and Dymple Buttrum, both of
Jasper; special lifelong friends,
Willie Faye Haygood and
Margie Elrod, both of Calhoun,
and Barbara Patterson,
Fairmount. Several nieces,
nephews and cousins also sur
vive.
The funeral service was held
Saturday, June 30 at 2 p.m.
from the Fairmount Chapel of
Ponders Funeral Home with the
Revs. Daron Henson and David
Johnson officiating. Interment
was in Pleasant Grove Ryo
Baptist Church Cemetery.
Mary L. Jones
Mrs. Mary Louise Jones, age
76 of Jasper, Ga., passed
Saturday, July 7, 2007 at
Piedmont Mountainside
Hospital in Jasper following a
period of declining health.
Born Dec. 16, 1930 in
Pickens County, she was the
daughter of the late Issac
Newton and Pearl McGahaha
Caylor. She was also preceded
in death by a daughter, Carol
Ann Ray, and son, Tommy Lee
Ray, Sr. She was co-owner/co-
operator and CEO of North
Georgia Vault Company.
Survivors include her hus
band, William H. “Bill” Jones,
Jr., Jasper; daughter and son-in-
law, Patricia and Richard D.
Boutwell, Jasper; son and
daughter-in-law, Charles H. and
Judy England Ray, Jasper;
brother and sister-in-law, Lloyd
and Dessie Caylor, Jasper;
grandchildren. Tommy Lee
Ray, Jr., Steven Chase Ray,
Dalton Ray Boutwell and
Matthew Dunn; and great
grandchildren, Dominique and
Charlee Ray. Several nieces,
nephews and other relatives
also survive.
The funeral service was held
at 2 p.m. Tuesday, July 10 from
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church
with the Revs. Gene Childers
and Gary Parker officiating.
Interment followed in Sunrise
Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers
were: Jimmy Kelley, Ralph
Cantrell, James Byers, Johnny
Caylor, Emmett Godfrey and
Ralph Jones. Roper Funeral
Home in charge of arrange
ments.
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