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The True Citizen, Wednesday, January 3, 2024 — Page 7
OBITUARY Review
Continued from 6
Verna Elizabeth Overholt
Verna Elizabeth Overholt, age 83, of Keysville, Georgia,
left this life to be with Jesus at 12:10 p.m. on December 25,
2023, at her home. She was bom
on S eptember 8,1940, in Elkhart
County, Indiana, to Raymond and
Susannah Bontrager. Growing
up, Mom enjoyed going to school
and working with her parents and
brothers on their farm. She gave
her life to Jesus Christ as a teen
ager. During her single years she
enjoyed attending Bible School
as well as doing several short
stints of voluntary service work in
southern Indiana and Kentucky.
She married Harold Overholt, son of Henry and Amanda
Overholt on August 2,1964, in Middlebury, Indiana.
In 1973 Mom and Dad moved their family from Indiana to
Spencer, Wisconsin, where Mom hosted a great number of
family members, friends, and sometimes complete strangers
who came to see where we lived way up north on a dairy farm.
She was a faithful, capable mother who worked hard to make
a home for her family. Every once in a while we caught a
glimpse of a more playful side of Mom that sometimes sur
prised and humored us!
From a young age, Mom was interested in the medical world,
and once her children were older, she got involved in pursuits
such as home health care, being an assistant to a midwife, and
foster parenting multiple children, including some with medi
cal needs. A favorite pastime was reading, and she collected
thousands of books over her lifetime. Mom also spent count
less hours of her life sewing clothes, comforters, and quilts
for her family as well as for missions. She was an excellent
cook and could whip up a meal in a hurry!
In 1991, Mom and Dad and youngest daughter Jenn moved
from Wisconsin to Due West, South Carolina, where Mom
continued hosting many visitors in their spacious home there,
as well as continuing in home health care and working as an
OB Tech at the Abbeville County Memorial Hospital. She
enjoyed serving in various capacities and interacting with her
friends at the Whispering Pines Mennonite Church.
In January of 2018 Mom and Dad moved to Georgia to be
nearer to Jenn’s family. Mom was always a hard worker, and
she showed her love for others by many acts of service until
her failing health prohibited her. In her last few years she was
a member of the Hephzibah Mennonite Church.
Verna was preceded in death by her parents and her husband.
Survivors include her four children: Twila (John) Kulp of
Mosinee, Wisconsin, Carlin Overholt of Stratford, Wisconsin,
Marlita Overholt (Craig Haasl) of Pittsville, Wisconsin, and
Janasue “Jenn” (Royal) Barnhart of Keysville, Georgia; ten
grandchildren: Darren (Brooke) Kulp, John Weston (Rebecca)
Kulp, Natasha (Justus) Barnhart, Adrian Kulp, Shaylee Over-
holt, Giles, Mikayla, Gianna, Addison and Karis B amhart; and
four great-grandchildren: Graham and Eleanora Kulp, Lydia
Kulp, and Harper Lee Blume, as well as a great-grandson who
is due to be bom in the spring; three brothers: Lester (LaVeda)
Bontrager, Floyd (Nancy) Bontrager, and Kenneth (Mildred)
Bontrager, all from northern Indiana; as well as five nieces and
four nephews, and many cousins and friends.
We as a family are grateful to the many people who showed
their love for Mom in her declining years by their prayers, vis
its , phone calls, letters, and gifts. We are especially thankful for
the care that her three live-in caregivers gave her since 2021.
Visitation hours were from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Thursday,
December 28,2023, at Hephzibah Mennonite Church, located
at 4248 Rheney Rd. Hephzibah, GA 30815. Funeral services
were held at the same location on Friday, December 29 at 10:30
a.m. Burial was in the church
cemetery immediately following
the service.
Chance and Hydrick Funeral
Directors, 2502 Richmond Hill
Rd., Augusta, GA 30906
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APRIL 5
Unit 3 at Power’s Plant Vog-
tle is generating electricity for
the first time, the Atlanta-based
utility announced during the
weekend.
Seven years behind sched
ule and several billions over
budget, Unit 3 has successfully
synchronized and connected
to the electric grid, putting the
reactor on a path toward going
into full commercial operation
in May or June.
Obituaries included Jennie
Boyce Fowler and Angela Ni
cole Burke.
APRIL 12
While most of the Keysville
City Council meeting went
smooth Monday, things got
heated when Mayor Linda
Wilkes scolded the panel for
cutting out insurance that pro
vided health benefits to three
city personnel and their chil
dren during last month’s spe
cial called meeting.
Obituaries included Mary
Ann Owens Johnson, Carol
Anne Gower Mann, Martha
Mae Freeman-Heath, Leonard
R. Herndon, Velvert “Velvet”
Lorraine Brown-Anderson and
Elease Rogers Williams.
APRIL 19
The Board of Commission
ers unanimously approved
curbside trash collection
throughout the county, with
the exception of Waynesboro
city limits.
“We knew Waynesboro
was skeptical, so we did a
price with all the cities except
Waynesboro,” said County
Manager Merv Waldrop. “So
far, they have told us they don’t
want it.”
Obituaries included David
F. Turner, Patricia King Page,
James “Buster” Cobb, Jr. and
William Glascock-Williams.
APRIL 26
After 74 years of serving
Burke County customers,
Southern Auto Store has been
sold to Mavis Tires & Brakes.
“They predicted 90 days,”
Freddie Yelton said of when
Mavis intends to re-open.
“They are going to do a com
plete remodeling of the build
ing and put in state-of-the-art
equipment.”
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams
has vowed to ramp up proac
tive measures to curb violent
behavior ahead of the summer
break.
Obituaries included Leon
Bynes, Brenda Lee Heath My
ers and Ronald Eugene “Gene”
Myers.
MAY 3
County Commissioner Lu-
cious Abrams’ journey to find
relief from $1.2 million in
farming debt has received na
tional media attention.
A February 2023 story by
NPR recognized Abrams as
the third generation to manage
the family’s farm; growing
cotton, corn and soybeans.
The story also recognizes him
as a plaintiff in the Pigford vs.
Glickman class action lawsuit
against the USDA. The 1999
lawsuit alleged that the USDA
discriminated against Black
farmers with the inequitable
distribution of loans and assis
tance from 1981-1996,causing
many Black farmers to lose
their land to foreclosure.
Obituaries included Ruby
Odom Bareheld, Joyce Bolton
Segrest, Howard William
Franklin, Ella Mae Ervin and
Franklin Barnard Crumbley, Jr.
MAY 10
At the request of District
Attorney Jared Williams, The
Georgia Bureau of Investiga
tion has launched an investiga
tion into Burke County Sheriff
Alfonzo Williams.
The GBI confirmed the in
vestigation with The True
Citizen Tuesday morning. “The
GBI is conducting a limited
preliminary inquiry into allega
tions and concerns regarding
Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo
Williams. That investigation
is active and ongoing,” said a
GBI spokesperson.
Williams confirmed to
WJBF-TV that the investiga
tion is related to his travel and
reimbursement expenses “re
lated to both his job as Sheriff
of Burke County and as an
instructor at the private com
pany, Leaders Helping Leaders
Network (LHLN).”
Obituaries included Jack De-
Laigle, Marine Godbee Holton
and Margie Janette James Mc
Collum.
MAY 17
After a closed-door annual
review Thursday May 11,
the Development Authority
of Burke County (DABC)
announced their decision to
terminate Director Jonathan
Lupo’s employment.
Chairwoman Lindsai Gentry
said multiple reasons factored
into the Board’s decision.
Emails between the county
and the DABC show unap
proved credit card use, missed
work, incomplete mileage logs
and gasoline purchases for per
sonal use may have all played a
part in the decision to fire him.
Obituaries included Delores
Burton Garner Proctor, Rev.
Inmon Lee Godbee, Bennie
Lee Walker, Samar “JJ” Jayan
James, Ryleigh Rose Winston,
Austin Matthew Wingate and
Dennis Dickey.
MAY 24
Except for Commissioner
Lucious Abrams, the Board of
Commissioners made two re
cent written requests to Sheriff
Alfonzo Williams to control his
department’s spending.
The letters signed by the
remaining four commissioners,
dated April 14 and May 9, em
phasize the Sheriff’s Office’s
budget is $7,756,360. The
April letter points out that if
spending continues at the same
rate for the rest of the year, the
BCSO will be $851,227 over
budget by the end of the fis
cal year, September 30, 2023.
However, by May the panel
informed Sheriff Williams that
amount had already increased
to $863,873.
Obituaries included Leona
Loretta Hargrove-Simpson,
James Edward Sursson, Jr.,
John W. Wimberly and Mi
chael Middleton.
MAY 31
An approved Juneteenth
festival to take place on Wood
lands Road in Waynesboro
turned out to actually be a
“Freaknik Bash”.
Waynesboro City Manager
Valerie Kirkland said she and
the Council were misled by
applicant Melissa Brayboy,
owner of Scramblerz Coffee
Bar in Midville. Brayboy never
informed Waynesboro city of
ficials the event was an adult
only party.
Obituaries included Memory
Rockwell Zittrouer, Sharon
Kay Smith-Jordan, Marie
Vaughn Jones and Georgia Mae
Mosley Cummings-London.
JUNE 7
Don Lively is Boss Hog no
more. Lively announced his
retirement from the Boss Hog
Cook-off role with mixed emo
tions prior to this year’s event.
“Fifteen years he has been
the boss,” said Lindsey Keller,
co-chair of the annual event.
“He’s been incredible; he fits
the part and looks the part.”
Obituaries included Jody
Prescott, Margaret Hill Elliott
and Gary Anthony Skinner.
JUNE 14
During the monthly Board
of Elections meeting Tuesday,
June 13, Assistant Chair Ed
Burke explained the office’s
reason for reducing the number
of Burke County polling sites:
“The Board of Elections is
beginning the process of con
solidating precincts to optimize
the in-person voting locations
within Burke County. In the
last major election, most voters
cast their ballots either by mail
or during early voting, with
only less-than-half voting in
person on Election Day. Burke
County has a very high number
of polling places for our popu
lation and has six precincts
which rank in the smallest 5%
of the entire state.”
Obituaries included Reverly
Quick Sanborn, David Gene
Powell, Gary Anthony Skinner
and Vivian McBride.
JUNE 21
In a June 20 letter addressed
to citizens and team members,
Waynesboro Police Chief Wil
lie Burley said his agency will
continue to work with the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office
and that there is no animosity
between the two agencies.
This comes in spite of the
fact, that according to a June
16 letter from Sheriff Alfonzo
Williams to Burley, members
of the WPD had broken the
Sheriff’s trust and respect on
multiple occasions. As a result,
he rescinded the deputization
of WPD officers, allowing only
Burley to operate outside the
City of Waynesboro.
Most of the WPD had been
deputized.
Obituaries included Karen
Louise Rowell, Louise Bray
Lively
I sold ten carvings from my
newfound knack, mentioned
above. Christmas found me in
Texas again where I enjoyed
several days of snuggling with
my Grands and daughters out
there. December ended with
My-Dawgs-Win-Or-Lose,
beating snot bubbles out of
Florida State.
Grant, Hugh Edward (Eddie)
S axon, Jr., Mildred H. Brigham
and Ronnie Gilbert.
JUNE 28
Michael Searles, “Cowboy
Mike,” died Friday at the age
of 80. He was a longtime col
umnist for The True Citizen
and a beloved member of the
community.
He was an accomplished
magazine writer and book au
thor in addition to his newspa
per writing. True Citizen Pub
lisher Roy F. Chalker, Jr. said
this week that “Mike’s shoes
will be impossible to fill. He
was a uniquely talented writer
and a seriously deep thinker.
He did his research before he
started typing, and he knew his
subject and its history. We will
miss him both professionally
and personally.”
Obituaries included Deborah
DeLoach Mobley, Mildred L.
Baker, Tyana S. Smith, Jo Ann
Johnson-Herrington, Larry Ed
ward Barnes, Lula Mae Bonner
and Doris Jennie Hill.
JULY 5
Continued from 4
2023 had many highs and a
few very deep lows and at the
end of the year, God was still
on His throne.
Bring on 2024.
Don Lively is a freelance
writer and author of several
books of Southern Humor. He
lives in Shell Bluff. Email Don
at Livelycolo@ aol. com.
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404 West 8th St., Waynesboro, GA
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Almari K. Phinazee
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www.chanceandhydrick.com
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Waynesboro, GA 30830
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www.burkememorial.com
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