Newspaper Page Text
THURSDAY. MARCH 16. 2017 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 19A
Obituaries
Jordan Simonds
November 11, 2000 -
March 11, 2017
Jordan Matthew Simonds,
16, of Jasper passed away
Saturday, March 11 as the re
sult of an accident. Jordan
was bom November 11,2000
to Will and Jessica Simonds
in Canton, Georgia. He was a
student at Pickens High
School and a member of the
Pickens High School Varsity
Football Team.
He is survived by his par
ents, Will and Jessica Si
monds of Jasper; brothers,
Tyjai Howell of Jasper; Jay-
den Simonds of Jasper;
grandparents, Jimmy and
Gaynelle Simonds of Jasper;
Alan Atkins of St. Peters-
burgh, Florida; Nancy Ja-
worski of Jasper. Several
aunts, uncles, cousins and
other family members also
survive.
The funeral service will be
held at 2 p.m., Wednesday,
March 15 at Mt. Zion Baptist
Church with Reverend Butch
Roberts officiating. Interment
will follow at Lake Forest
Memorial Park.
Arrangements are en
trusted to the staff of Roper
Funeral Home & Crematory.
Online condolences can
be made at www.roperfuner-
alhome.com
Dick Brown
Dick Brown, 75, of the
Fairmount Community died
on Friday, March 10, 2017 at
his home following several
months of declining health.
Dick was a veteran of The
United States Army. He was
a builder, a mechanic, and a
jack of all trades.
Survivors are his son and
daughter-in-law, Richard E.
and Sandra W. Brown; his
daughters and sons-in-law,
Cindy B. and Tony Parks,
and Kathy L. Robinson; sev
eral grandchildren and great
grandchildren.
To honor his request,
Dick’s body was cremated.
No memorial services are
planned. Friends may make
memorials to the Salvation
Army.
Arrangements are under
the care and direction of Max
Brannon and Sons Funeral
Home of Calhoun.
Larree Johnston
Larree Johnston, 102, of
Jasper, Georgia died Febru
ary 9, 2017 after a brief ill
ness. He was the son of J. W.
and Katie G. Johnston of
Cartersville, Georgia. During
World War II, he served in
the U.S. Navy. Upon retiring
as the Postmaster of the
Cartersville Post Office in
1978, he and his wife, Ashley
H. Johnston, moved to Bent
Tree in Jasper.
He was preceded in death
by his parents, J. W. and
Katie Johnston; brother,
William Ginn Johnston; and
his wife, Ashley Johnston.
Larree is survived by two
daughters, Karen J. Pralinsky
of Jasper and Rosemary
McWilliams of Fort Lupton,
CO; five grandchildren, Lara
Cline, Jena Cline, Holly
Cline, Ashley Branton, John
A. Pralinsky, Jr.; seven great
grandchildren and one great-
great-grandchild.
A graveside service will
be held at Oak Hill Cemetery
in Cartersville at 2 p.m., Sat
urday, March 18 with Rev
erend Edwin Weaver
officiating. In lieu of flowers,
donations may be made to
the Bent Tree Foundation
Scholarship Fund, 744 Noah
Dr., suite 113-# 184, Jasper,
GA 30143.
Arrangements are en
trusted to the staff of Roper
Funeral Home & Crematory
in Jasper, Georgia.
Online condolences can
be made at www.roperfiiner-
alhome.com.
Larry Sutton
March 19, 1953 -
March 11, 2017
Larry Eugene Sutton, 63,
of Canton, Georgia passed
away Saturday, March 11,
2017 at his home. Larry was
bom March 19, 1953 in Tate
to Wallace and Bobbie Jo
Sutton.
He is survived by his wife,
Betty Densmore of Canton;
children, April and Brad
Owens of White, Amy and
Howard Swancey of Talking
Rock, Jody and Deana Sutton
of Jasper; step-daughter,
Michelle Rich; grandchil
dren, Jessica Massey of Ft.
Bragg, Laura Swancey of
Talking Rock, Maggie
Swancey of Talking Rock,
Liam Swancey of Talking
Rock, Mia Sutton of Jasper,
Cade Sutton of Jasper, Caleb
Patterson of Jasper, Haley
Owens of White; step-grand-
children, Michael Rich,
Jacob Rich; great-grandchild,
Blaine Massey; sisters, San
dra Bryant of Talking Rock,
Dianne Henson of Ball
Ground, Deanna Warbington
of Gumming. Several nieces,
nephews and other relatives
also survive.
Funeral services were
held at 12 p.m. Monday,
March 13, 2017 at the Chapel
of Roper Funeral Home with
Reverend Buck Parker and
Reverend Mark Henson offi
ciating. Interment will follow
in Price Creek Baptist
Church Cemetery.
Arrangements are en
trusted to the staff of Roper
Funeral Home & Crematory.
Online condolences can
be made at www.roperfimer-
alhome.com
Marvin Padgett
Marvin Dwight “Mr. P.”
Padgett, 78, of Jasper, passed
away Friday, March 10,
2017. He was a loving hus
band, father and grandfather
and enjoyed gardening. He
loved traveling with his wife,
Brenda Padgett who pre
ceded him in death.
Survivors include his
daughters and son-in-law’s,
Trina and James Davis,
Debra and Tim Cagle, Lisa
and Greg Sutton; 8 grand
children, 13 great grandchil
dren; sisters and
brother-in-law, Betty and
Seth Terry, Eloise Watson;
sister-in-law, Barbara Ann
Martin; and a number of
other relatives also survive.
Funeral services were
held on held on Sunday,
March 12th, at 3 p.m. at In
gram Funeral Home Chapel
with Rev. Joey Watson, Rev.
Bobby Padgett and Rev.
Benny Clark officiating. In
terment followed in Liberty
Grove Baptist Church Ceme
tery.
Ingram Funeral Home &
Crematory, Gumming, Geor
gia is in charge of arrange
ments.
Condolences may be
made at www.ingramfuneral-
home.com.
Diane McAlister
Diane Farmer McAlister,
74, of Ball Ground, Georgia
passed away on Sunday,
March 5, 2017 at North Ful
ton Hospital following a brief
illness.
She was bom on June 27,
1942 in Brundidge, Alabama
to Nellie Rogers Farmer and
Wilbur Farmer. Diane was
married to Robert “Bob”
McAlister.
Diane leaves her legacy to
her loving husband, Robert
“Bob” McAlister; her loving
children, Darryl Forehand
(Andrea), Chris Smith
(Stephanie) and Cindy
Turner (Rodney); her nine
grandchildren and her four
great-grandchildren; loving
mother, Nellie Nichols; her
loving sisters, Delores Berry
(Paul) and Donna Lankford;
a host of nieces and nephews.
She was preceeded in death
by her brother-in-law, Ray
mond “Dank” Lankford.
A memorial service to cel
ebrate her life was held on
Friday, March 10, 2017 at
First Baptist Church of Jasper
at 11 a.m. A graveside service
was held in Columbus, Geor
gia at Parkhill Cemetery on
Saturday, March 11. In lieu
of flowers, donations can be
made to Piedmont Mountain
side Hospital Auxiliary, 1266
Hwy. 515, Jasper, Ga. 30143.
Masonic Resolution on the
death of Brother Donald
Eugene Hammontree
To the Worshipful Master,
Warden, and Brethren of
Pickens Star Lodge #220
F&A.M Jasper, Georgia
Whereas, on February 22,
2017 it was the will of the
Grand Architect of Heaven
and Earth to call from Labor
to Refreshment our beloved
Brother Donald Eugene
Hammontree.
And whereas we, his
brethren, feel keenly his ab
sence from our midst and
while we humbly bow to the
Will of our Infinite Creator,
we desire to make a suitable
Memorial, therefore:
Be it resolved that Pickens
Star Lodge No. 220 F&A.M.
express to the family of our
departed Brother, Deepest
sympathy and wish to ex
press our gratitude for his life
of service among us.
Be it further resolved that
a copy of these resolutions be
sent to the bereaved family of
our departed brother,
A copy to be spread on
our minutes and a copy be
published in the Pickens
County Progress.
Respectfully Submitted
Keith Hales
Steve Kirk
Gene Free
Committee
Continued from 1A
FFA
Saturday, March 18th from 8
a.m. to 4 p.m. Alumni repre
sentatives will be on hand to
unload and inventory sale
items. They hope many peo
ple will take advantage of
this date since it is on Satur
day. Other drop-off times will
be available the following
week leading up to the Auc
tion date.
There are auction flyers in
many locations around the
community. If you cannot lo
cate one, you are welcome to
send an email to
joewright@pickenscoun-
tyschools.org and a flyer can
be emailed back to you with
all of the information. You
can also go to auctionzip.com
and click on the Calendar
item on March 25 and get
more information as well as
pictures of some of the items
that have already been sched
uled to be auctioned off.
Bring your equipment or
bring your checkbook! The
Pickens County FFA alumni
needs you to help make the
auction a success for the FFA
members in the community.
Pickens County FFA Alumni
Equipment Auction
WHEN: Saturday, March 25th @> 10am
WHERE: 545 Hwy 515 S • Jasper, GA
(Old Lawson's Chevrolet Dealership)
WHAT: Tools, Equipment, Automobiles, Golf Carts
Chainsaws, etc. "// it runs, well take it!"
100% of the PROCEEDS from the auction goes
to the Pickens County FFA Alumni.
* This includes all Buyer 6 Seller Premiums. *
Items can be donated or sold for consignment.
There is a 10% seller's premium ($500 cap) for
people who want to sell their items at the auction.
Anyone can get a bid number and there is a
10% buyer's premium on items. Certified funds
required with purchases over $1,000.
’Consigners will be paid the week following the auction.
* If you would like to donate or sell an item in the auction,
all items must be brought to Lawson's BEFORE the auction.
Please LIMIT household goods due to outside weather conditions.
DROP OFF DATES: Saturday, March 18th • 8am • 4pm
Monday, March 20th - Friday, March 24th • 1pm - 6pm
For more information regarding the auction please contact:
Kyle Waters: 770-710-1692 GAL3752 Mr. Cantrell: 770-893-8450
Lamar Cantrell: 770-617-5853 Mr. Dobson: 770-893-8777
Greg Long: 770-826-1412 Mr. Pullen: 770-605-0935
Joel Neighbors: 770-894-7970 Mr. Wright: 770-893-8772
Billy Buckner: 770-894-9639 Mike Painter: 678-898-2274
Continued from 1A
Spirit
I would like to thank
Eddie Goodwin and the
Blaine Masonic Lodge as
well as Greg Trammell of
The Talking Rock Cherokee
Memorial Cemetery Trust (a
non-profit group). The
groups are owners of por
tions of the property and had
given me permission to use
their land for my investiga
tion. I did not get permission
from the owner of the ceme
tery portion of the land,
therefore, being respectful to
that property owner, did not
enter onto that part of the
property.
In looking over at the
fenced-in area that encloses
the graves, I noticed that you
can’t see anything inside and
it would be impenetrable due
to the undergrowth. I couldn't
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help but think that these poor
souls are still imprisoned.
The only difference is that,
the wood fencing that held
them prisoners in life, is now
a chain-link enclosure that
seems to hold them captive in
death.
There is a large owl living
in the attic of the Masonic
Lodge located on the prop
erty. According to Native
American legends, the owl is
symbolic of death, and hear
ing the hoot of an owl is a
bad omen. These ghostly ap
pearing birds are night crea
tures and said to be
connected with the supernat
ural and with spirits. The owl
is said to be able to deliver
messages from beyond the
grave.
It is written that the
Cherokee specifically
thought them to be spiritual
beings that could advise in
cases of illness. Could the
fact that an owl guards over
the space where the fort was
located and near the graves of
those who had passed on be
symbolic to the death and
tragedy that occurred at the
fort? Could the owl be the
messenger and protector of
the spirits that reside there?
During the investigation I
caught a glimpse of a huge
shadow figure out of the cor
ner of my eye, but when I
turned to get a good look at
it, it had vanished. This
shadow figure was much big
ger than a normal human and
may have even been a crea
ture of some sort. It appeared
to be even darker than the
dark of night. A shadow fig
ure is said to be a disembod
ied spirit of a human or
creature. They appear outside
of a person’s peripheral vi
sion.
It is my understanding
that shadow figures have
been known and reported by
the Cherokee throughout
their history. I have read
about a Cherokee legend that
has the shadow figure of a
Cherokee witch who tor
ments the living. I have also
discovered in my studies, that
they believe spirits in the
form of humans or animals,
watch over all things. Could
this shadow figure/creature
that I saw be one of those
spirits watching over the
cemetery?
One of the photos taken
that night showed a large
glowing orb which could not
be seen by the human eye but
picked up by my camera. The
next shot taken in the same
spot did not show the glow
ing orb, proving that there is
nothing in the area that
should be glowing. The orb
appeared near the ground just
under the full moon. An orb
is thought to be an entity, try
ing to manifest itself by using
the energy sources around it.
This orb was a glowing
orb, which is rarer than your
average orb. The orb was
white with a reddish orange
circle around it. Some people
believe the different color of
the orbs have different mean
ings. The white in this orb
would be a protective spirit
and the red/orange color
would signify a possible
caretaker. Is it possible that a
former guard is still watching
over the fort?
This area is a sad place
and has a depressive aura
about it. You can feel the
heaviness and sorrow of the
people that were imprisoned
there. Before leaving for the
night, I tried to help any spir
its that were trapped there to
move on to the next plane. It
is very important for me to be
able to aid willing spirits in
crossing over into the light. It
is my hope that I was able to
help some of the lost souls
that may have been residing
there.
This article is an excerpt
author Jeanne Wells revised
for the Progress from her up
coming book on Georgia
Ghosts. Find out more at her
Facebook page Spirts, An
gels, and the Paranormal.