LOCAL
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 7A
OBITUARIES
William Richard Goode
Died Nov. 25, 2018
On Nov. 25, 2018, William Richard
Goode, “Bill,” 90, went to be with his Heav
enly Father, being freed from his body of
death, now fully alive with his Creator.
He passed peacefully surrounded by his
family.
A part of the “Greatest Generation,” Bill
embodied its virtues. He lived through the
deprivation of the Great
Depression, quit high
school in order to serve
in the Marines toward
the end of World War 2
and later served in the
Coast Guard. Graduat
ing from Lynchburg Col
lege in 1958 with a degree
in music education, he
taught chorus in Illinois
and Florida and was voted teacher of the
year in Palm Beach County in 1971. He
advanced to become principal of Lantana
Middle School and later designed, founded
and served as principal of two high schools,
Santaluces and Olympic Heights, and was
promoted to assistant superintendent of
Palm Beach County Schools. He retired in
1991 after 34 years in education.
Students from over 50 years ago have
continued to stay in touch with him because
of the profound influence he has had on
them. Not wanting to be far from music
or ministry, he continued to lead various
church and community choirs and was
involved in missions throughout his life.
He was known for his acceptance of
all people. He never met a stranger. He
believed the best in others and had a way
of drawing that out. He made people feel
special. He was extroverted and winsome,
gregarious and generous, he loved people
and people loved him back.
Bill loved to be surrounded by his family.
He passed down integrity, respect, patrio
tism, duty, stick-to-it-iveness, chivalry and
humility. Music was always present and
continues to resonate as part of his fam
ily legacy. Bill loved sharing life with “the
love of my life, my beautiful wonderful
wife, Bevy.”
And most important of all, he knew God.
His faith was strong. In his later years,
he would break out singing “hallelujah!”
often, or softly utter “thank You Lord” as
he recognized even the smallest blessing.
Bill was preceded by his parents, Theo-
drick and Norma; sister Francis; and
brother Ed.
He is survived by his wife Beverly and
his sons Bill II (Katia), of Spokane, Wash.;
Jeff (Gabriela), of Alpharetta, Ga.; and
Randy (Candy), of Lenoir, N.C.; and his
grandchildren Bill III (Kamrin), Andy, Tim
and Alex; Juliet and James; and Sarah and
Josh. Also surviving is his sister, Wanda,
and brother Jim (Annette); stepsons Ken,
Robert (Lauri), Brian (Cynthia); stepgrand-
children Hunter, Griffin and Laurin; for
mer wife Jane (Rick) Marton; and many
special nieces and nephews and their
families.
Bill’s celebration of life service will be
held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in
the chapel of First Baptist Church on Green
Street. The family will receive friends in
the Church Parlor Thursday from 10 a.m.
until the funeral hour. Interment will be
held Friday, Nov. 30, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. at
the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton,
Ga.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests
donations be sent to the Ministry of Car
ing of First Baptist Church Gainesville, the
American Cancer Society or Hospice of
Northeast Georgia Medical Center.
Those wishing to send online condo
lences to the family may do so at littledav-
enport.com.
Little & Davenport Funeral Home and
Crematory, Gainesville
Sign the online guest book at
gainesvilletimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Nov. 28, 2018
Sandra Lou Haynes
March 31, 1942-Nov. 26, 2018
Mrs. Sandra Lou Haynes, 76, of Flow
ery Branch passed away Monday, Nov. 26,
2018, at Northeast Georgia Medical Center
- Gainesville, surrounded by her family.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Friday,
Nov. 30, 2018, at The Chapel at Free Cha
pel - Main Campus with interment follow
ing at Memorial Park South Cemetery.
Pastor Michael Thurmond will officiate.
The family will receive friends 6-8 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 29,2018, at Memorial Park
South Funeral Home.
Mrs. Haynes was born March 31,1942, to
the late Herbert Morgan and Elsie Dudley
in Charleston, W.Va. She was a member of
Free Chapel in Gainesville, where she was
part of the Wisdom Club. Her most special
achievement was raising her two daugh
ters; however, she was also an artist, quil-
ter and an amazing softball coach.
Mrs. Haynes is survived by her husband
of 58 years, Richard Haynes of Flowery
Branch; daughters, Terri Lee Haynes of
Gainesville and Tracey Lynn Conner of
Cumming; granddaughter, Haley Haynes
Boullon of Gainesville; and sister, Martie
Toy of Brandon, Fla.
In lieu of flowers, charitable contribu
tions may be made to Free Chapel Gaines
ville - The Exchange Program, in honor
of Sandra Haynes, 3001 McEver Road,
Gainesville, GA 30504.
Send online condolences to www.memo-
rialparkfuneralhomes.com.
Memorial Park South Funeral Home,
Flowery Branch
Sign the online guest book at gainesvil-
letimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Nov. 28, 2018
Frances Miller Mathis
July 4, 1924-Nov. 25, 2018
Matter-of-fact and demure — daring and
unique.
Frances Miller Mathis lived a life that
defied convention, gather
ing jaw-dropping memo
ries while spreading an
all-encompassing love
that anyone who met her
will not soon forget.
On the one hand, the
daughter of a north Geor
gia farmer adored the
simplicity of nature and
the joys of a life lived to serve a higher
power. On the other hand, Frances Miller
Mathis rafted the Colorado River, trekked
to the North Pole and hosted state gover
nors and even the President of the United
States.
When Frances Miller Mathis left this
world on Nov. 25, 2018, following a brief
illness, it halted a life that would make for
a great book or film. And yet her deeds
proved an honest and — for her family,
especially — very touching reminder that
great things can and do happen to very
real people.
Born on July 4, 1924, in Choestoe —
pronounced Choy-stoy for those lucky
enough to know the “land of the dancing
rabbits,” as the Cherokee once anointed
it — in Union County, Ga., Frances Miller
Mathis inhabited the world of a mountain
farmer’s daughter, spending her days in
the glistening valleys and harkening moun-
taintops that also produced such luminar
ies and leaders as Zell Miller (Frances’
first cousin) and Joseph E. Brown — both
governors of the state of Georgia — poet
Byron Herbert Reece, novelist Arthur
Woody and State School Superintendent
M.D. Collins, each hailing from the tiny
mountain hamlet.
The only daughter of Fannie Mae Shuler
and William Fletcher Miller, Frances was
indeed pampered by her father — even if
her mother ruled the roost. And Frances
herself never failed to delve in the hard
work, joining a family line of Appalachian
farmers — including her grandmother
Miller who frequently remarked, “You
can find some good in everyone.”
Frances was followed by brother Wil
liam Fletcher, named after his father, who
went on to join the Air Force — but it was
to be another man who only flirted with
the Air Force that was to have perhaps the
biggest influence on her life.
Certainly she had the biggest influence
on James Earl Mathis.
James Mathis met Frances Miller by
both fortune and family influence.
Miller’s aunt Verdie spent her life dedi
cated to education, enticing Frances Miller
to Young Harris Boarding School, where
Frances completed three years of high
school and two in junior college before fol
lowing aunt Verdie to LaGrange College
where she completed her bachelor’s in
biology.
It was at Young Harris Junior College
that Frances first met James Mathis, situ
ated just desks away. Linked by alphabeti
cal chance, the two embarked on a lifelong
love that survived separation by World
War II and spanned the decades to make
its mark on northeast Georgia and beyond.
While his eyesight kept him out of a
pilot’s seat, Mathis itched to join the United
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States Armed Forces to fight the evils of
the day and so joined the Army, eventu
ally taking part in the Battle of the Bulge in
Europe before returning in 1945. Frances
Miller and James Mathis were married in
1945 at First Methodist in Atlanta, embark
ing on a storybook romance and life adven
tures for the next 64 years.
Moving from Atlanta back to Union
County in order to help run a Civilian
Conservation Corps camp, Frances Miller
Mathis quickly learned how to entertain
for the masses — even if it was in an off
hand way thanks to a quickly dog-eared
copy of the Joy of Cooking purchased in
Atlanta. It was to serve her well for the rest
of her life.
It was in the CCC camp that Frances
Mathis became pregnant with her first
child, James Mathis Jr. (Jim) who was born
on Dec. 11,1946, during an eventful ambu
lance ride from Union County to the hospi
tal in Cleveland — now famous as Babyland
General (the home of the Cabbage Patch
Kids).
Shortly afterward, the couple and their
new baby moved to Gainesville, where
James Mathis Sr. eventually moved into the
banking business — a pursuit in which the
entire Mathis family became involved - in
particular with Frances’ famous cobblers,
lemon tea cakes and homemade ice cream
- and making a mark on the entire northeast
Georgia community as James rose to presi
dent of Home Federal Savings and Loan
before it was purchased by SunTrust Bank.
In the interim, Frances Miller Mathis
busied herself with the pursuit of improv
ing her new hometown of Gainesville and
the entirety of northeast Georgia, either by
joining and leading civic organizations or
supporting educational institutions such as
Gainesville College (now part of the Univer
sity of North Georgia, Gainesville), Brenau
University, the Lake Lanier Islands Author
ity, United Way, Red Cross, The Gainesville
Garden Club, honored with the Woman of the
Year Award from Rotary Club of Gainesville,
the Woman of Distinction Awards from the
Girls Scots of Northeast Georgia, Hall County
Library System and First Baptist Church of
Gainesville, a beloved member of the Glean
ers Sunday School Class and the Flower
Committee. She also employed those early
cooking skills to great effect, hosting parties
large and small to local fame, with recipes
that reached into local newspapers and mag
azines as well as friends’ cookbooks.
Sons Phillip (Phil) and Gregory (Greg) also
followed, each guided by a loving mother
that not only fostered the family value of
education but also imbued a sense of adven
ture and understanding typified by scouting.
Each son made the rank of Eagle Scout, all
supported by a mother that spent her week
ends cooking and washing at scout camps
— a belief that eventually brought honor as
US Forest Service National Volunteer of the
Year at the White House in the 1980s.
It was not her only experience at the
nation’s most famous executive residence,
however, as Mathis also was invited to the
White House during Georgia native Jimmy
Carter’s presidency (1977-80). With her
cousin, Zell Miller, also elected as governor
of the state of Georgia (1991-99), Frances
Miller Mathis experienced more than just
a brush with politics.
It was not what motivated Frances Miller
Mathis, however.
Her joys came from the successes of her
sons, who each went on to considerable
achievements, including son Jim, who led
his father’s bank before becoming CEO of
the northeast Georgia Community Foun
dation, Phil, who became a developer,
and Greg, who is a PhD in poultry science
with internationally-known successes and
publications.
She also took great joys in worldwide
journeys with her husband — who accom
plished extraordinary feats in local busi
ness, including the inauguration of the Curb
Market which is now known as Gainesville’s
Mule Camp Market. Even after journeying
to the far corners of the globe, including
the actual north pole in the 1990s, Frances
Miller Mathis always retained a love for
the mountains and valleys in which she was
raised.
It was a love reflected in the artwork
and pottery of the region that she collected
in masses — a collection that helped start
a wing of the Northeast Georgia History
Center. It also extended to vast poetry
collections.
Not least, she loved watching her grand
children follow in her family’s considerable
footsteps.
In the end, this child of the mountains
lived and loved for the simple aspects of life.
And, no matter where she went, she spread
that love and joy with her.
Frances Miller Mathis was preceded in
death by her husband James Earl Mathis
Sr. and son Phillip Mathis. Surviving fam
ily includes: James (Jim) E. Mathis Jr. and
wife Robin, Gregory (Greg) Mathis and wife
Sally, daughter-in-law Sue Mathis, grand
children Kelly Lee, Katie Dubnik, Randi
Rouk and Holly Lonergan as well as nine
great-grandchildren and numerous family
and friends. The family would like to espe
cially thank her caregivers over the last sev
eral years who became an extension of the
family in so many ways.
A celebration of life will be held Friday,
Nov. 30, at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church of
Gainesville (751 Green St.) with the Rev.
Bruce Fields officiating. The family will
receive friends after the service in the fel
lowship hall immediately following the ser
vice. In lieu of flowers the family requests
donations be made to the James and Fran
ces Mathis Charitable Fund at the North
Georgia Community Foundation (615 Oak
St., Gainesville, GA 30501) or First Baptist
Church (751 Green St., Gainesville, GA).
Online condolences can be made at www.
memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.
Memorial Park North Riverside Chapel,
989 Riverside Drive, Gainesville, GA 30501.
770-297-6200
Sign the online guest book at
gainesvilletimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Nov. 28, 2018
More obituaries on page 8A
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