LOCATSTATE
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Wednesday, December 19, 2018 7A
JONESBORO
Man accused
of stabbing his
brother to death
Authorities say a man is accused of
stabbing his brother to death in front
of their family.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
reports that Joseph Oliver was
arrested Monday on charges of aggra
vated assault and malice murder.
A Clayton County Sheriffs Office
statement says Oliver allegedly
stabbed the brother after a dispute at
their home near Jonesboro. Officials
tell the newspaper that the brothers’
father, mother and grandmother wit
nessed the stabbing. The victim was
taken to a hospital and pronounced
dead. Authorities say Oliver was
found with a knife on him.
It’s unclear if he has a lawyer who
could comment.
I AWRFNOFVII I F
Mayor avoids prison
with plea deal on tax
evasion charges
The mayor of Snellville will avoid
a prison term under a plea deal
reached with prosecutors on charges
of tax evasion.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
reported Mayor Tom Witts accepted
a plea deal Monday. Witts entered
an Alford plea to 11 of the 66 charges
against him. An Alford plea does not
admit guilt, but concedes sufficient
evidence exists for a conviction.
Witts will also resign as mayor.
He was indicted last year charges
of tax evasion and of personal uses of
campaign funds. The felony charges
he pleaded to included false state
ments, false swearing, theft by con
version and tax evasion.
Witts will serve six months of house
arrest and 10 years of probation. He
must also pay $40,000 of delinquent
taxes.
WARNER ROBINS
Deputies suspended for
illegally hunting deer
A Georgia sheriff’s office says two
of its deputies have been suspended
for illegally hunting deer.
Houston County Chief Deputy
Billy Rape says a state investigation
found that Sgt. Kevin Harper and
his nephew, Cpl. Brandon Harper,
illegally killed a deer while working
as private security. The Macon Tele
graph reported Monday that Rape
says Kevin Harper shot the deer last
month while working at Guardian
Centers in Perry with his nephew,
who assisted in the hunt.
Kevin Harper was suspended for
five days without pay and given six
months of probation. Brandon Harper
was suspended without pay for three
days and given six months of proba
tion. The two won’t be allowed to work
private security detail while on proba
tion and are barred from working as
private security for Guardian Centers.
Associated Press
DeKalb County police officer killed
at traffic stop remembered as hero
Associated Press
DUNWOODY - Family,
friends and law enforcement
from around the country paid
their respects Tuesday to a
DeKalb County police
officer slain after a
traffic stop.
Hundreds of people
lined the highways as
the procession trav
eled through DeKalb
County to the All Saints
Catholic Church in
Dunwoody, where the
first of two services
were held for DeKalb
County Police Officer Edgar
Flores.
The 24-year-old officer was
shot in the head while in pur
suit of a man he had pulled
over. The suspect, 33-year-old
Justin Taylor, was later shot
and killed by officers after a
brief manhunt.
At the service Tuesday,
Flores was remembered as a
hero.
His 15-year-old brother,
Alexis Flores, called him his
role model and someone who
“fought for equality.”
South Precinct Commander
Maj. KD Johnson told mourn
ers who packed the church that
he had talked to the teenager a
few days earlier.
“He said he wants to be a
police officer, and he wants
to wear his brother’s badge,”
Johnson said.
Others described
Flores, who would have
turned 25 on Tuesday,
as a natural-born offi
cer, selfless, always
smiling, a brother.
“Flores always,
always talked about
his family,” said fellow
DeKalb officer Justin
Hamilton, fighting back
tears. “That was his thing.”
Flores, who was engaged
to be married, was the third
police officer in Georgia killed
by gunfire in 2018 and the fifth
to die overall in the line of duty.
DeKalb’s police chief, James
Conroy, said the show of sup
port from law enforcement all
over the country helps them
cope with the tragic loss.
“We are a family. We’ve got
honor guards here from as far
away as Dallas, Boston. Chi
cago is here, and Chicago tragi
cally lost two last night in an
incident. Yet here they are to
support us,” Conroy said.
Gov.-elect Brian Kemp also
attended the funeral.
A second service is sched
uled for 11 a.m. today at Prince
of Peace Catholic Church in
Flowery Branch.
The off-ramps for 1-985
northbound and southbound
will be closed to all traffic
between 8:30-9 a.m. today.
“In addition, the inter
sections at Stonebridge Vil
lage Shopping Center and
Hog Mountain Road at Spout
Springs Road will also be
closed to allow (the) procession
to pass through,” according to
Flowery Branch Police’s Face-
book post.
When the service concludes
around 1 p.m., the Hog Moun
tain Road and Spout Springs
Road intersection will be
closed for roughly 30 minutes.
Interment at Yonah Memorial
Gardens will follow the Flow
ery Branch funeral service.
The 1-985 northbound off
ramp will be closed, and no
northbound traffic will be
allowed until the procession
clears out of the area on its way
to Demorest.
Nick Watson contributed to this
report.
Flores
OBITUARIES
Sarah Charlotte Eberhardt Banks
Nov. 3, 1924-Dec. 16,2018
Mrs. Sarah Charlotte Eberhardt Banks,
94, of Gainesville, Ga., passed away on Dec.
16, 2018, at Morningside of
Gainesville Assisted Living
Facility after a long illness.
A memorial service will
be held at 11 a.m. on Dec.
20, 2018, at Memorial Park
North Riverside Chapel
with the Rev. Bruce Fields
officiating. Music will be
provided by Mark Green.
The family will receive friends prior to the
service beginning at 9:45 a.m.
Born on Nov. 3,1924, in Hall County, Ga.,
to the late Earnest Paul (E.P.) and the late
Elizabeth Thompson Eberhardt, Charlotte
attended Tadmore Elementary School and
graduated from Airline High School and
Gainesville School of Nursing where she
earned her L.P.N. degree. She later gradu
ated from Emory School of Nursing. After
her children were in school, she earned her
R.N. Degree.
Charlotte was a dedicated wife and most
loving mother of three sons. She was a long
time member of the First Baptist Church on
Green Street, where she was an active mem
ber of the Gleaners Sunday School Class. She
enjoyed socializing and seeing new places
while involved in two travel clubs.
Charlotte grew up Methodist and was a
lifelong tent-holder at the Lebanon Meth
odist Camp Meeting, where she faithfully
attended every August with friends and
family.
Charlotte was a longtime member of Dog
wood Garden Club and had many blue rib
bons for entries into the local flower shows.
Her love of gardening can be seen in the gar
dens of many Gainesvillians, as she was a big
proponent of Pass-Along-Plants. That is to
say if you stopped by her garden on Gaines
Mill Road, she could be seen digging up
plants for friends to plant in their gardens.
She tended to a very large vegetable garden
every year up into her 90s. Her fig trees were
favored by many when it was picking time.
Charlotte will perhaps most be remem
bered for her fifty plus years of devoted
services to private duty nursing. She had a
passion for helping others. For many years
she volunteered in the Meals on Wheels pro
gram delivering meals to the aging commu
nity. People continue to mention how fond
they were of her when she took care of their
parents in their terminal illnesses. She and
Susie Harris were one of the first local “Hos
pice” type nurses in Hall County. Palliative
care was very new and was not yet known as
Hospice Care.
In addition to her devout service to the
nursing community, Charlotte was very
active in local Boy Scout programs. Having
three active and growing sons, Charlotte
pioneered the first local used scout uniform
drives.
Mrs. Banks was the wife of the late W.W.
“Bill” Banks. She was preceded in death by
her sons John Paul “J.P.” Banks and Michael
“Mike” Banks. She is survived by her son
and daughter-in-law Rodney F. and Susan
Banks of Los Angeles, Calif.; daughter-in-law
Willia Buquet Banks of Gainesville; grand
son Rodney “Rod” F. Banks Jr. and his wife
Kimberly and a great-granddaughter who is
soon to be born of Scottsdale, Ariz.; grand
son Charlie Banks of Atlanta, Ga.; grandson
William Robert “Bob” Banks and his wife
Kirsten Hall Banks; great-granddaughter
Ansley Elizabeth Banks; granddaughter Joy
Elizabeth Banks; great-grandson Max Stone
both of Gainesville. Mrs. Banks is addition
ally survived by her sister Frances Eber
hardt Patterson of Gainesville and a number
of nieces and nephews.
The family wishes to thank Morning-
side Assisted Living Facility of Gainesville
for their devotion to Mrs. Banks’ care and
Homestead Hospice for making Charlotte’s
transition into her heavenly home one of
peace surrounded by her family and friends.
Additionally, the family wishes to thank her
caregiver, Beverly Ortiz of Gainesville, Ga.,
for her extraordinary devotion to Charlotte
for a number of years.
Memorial contributions may be made to
either The Ministry of Caring at the First
Baptist Church, 751 Green St., Gainesville,
GA 30501, or to Gainesville’s Meals on
Wheels, 430 Prior St. SE, Gainesville, GA
30501.
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.
Dec. 19, 2018
The Rev. Paul Allen Jones Jr.
Jan. 24, 1938-Dec. 17, 2018
The Rev. Paul Allen Jones Jr., 80, of Cor
nelia, Ga., passed away on Monday, Dec. 17,
2018.
The Rev. Jones was born on Jan. 24,1938,
in Hall County, Ga., a son of the late Paul
Allen Jones Sr. and Mary Ester Jones. He
was also preceded in death by his beloved
wife, Edna Ruth Brown Jones, and grandson,
Justin Warren. The Rev. Jones was a United
States Army Veteran and a retired truck
driver. He was a member of Crossroads
Baptist Church. Paul was a loving husband,
father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
Survivors include his daughters and sons-
in-law, Tammie and Harley Warren of Cum-
ming and Wanda and Cary Clark of Alto; son
and daughter-in-law, Marty and Becky Jones
of Alto; brother, J.H. Jones of Lawrenceville;
grandchildren: Ryan Jones, Eric Jones, Kyle
Clark and Kayla Wilson; and great-grand
children: Mason Warren, Lily Warren, Abbie
Jones, Macie Jones, Cadyn Jones, Natalie
Jones, Emma Jones, Matthew Jones, Zeke
Wilson, Lyanna Wilson, Maciey Evans and
Kate Evans.
Funeral services are scheduled for 11
a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, at Cross
roads Baptist Church with the Rev. Lamar
Kastner officiating. Interment will follow
in the church cemetery with military hon
ors provided by the United States Army,
Habersham County DAV Chapter #84, Grant
Reeves VFW Post #7720 and Rabun County
DAV Chapter #15.
The family will receive friends from 5-8
p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2018, at Whit
field Funeral Home, South Chapel, Baldwin,
Ga.
Those wishing to express online condo
lences to the family may do so by visiting
www.whitfieldfuneralhomes.com.
Whitfield Funeral Homes & Crematory,
South Chapel, Baldwin
Sign the online guest book at
gainesvilletimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Dec. 19, 2018
Manila Hansford Lynch
Dec. 18, 1923-Dec. 18, 2018
Manita Hansford Lynch, 95, of Gaines
ville, Ga., passed away
on Dec. 18, 2018, at her
assisted living home, the
BeeHive, in Gainesville.
She was born on Dec. 18,
1923, in Maxey’s, Ga., to
the late Benjamin Nathan
iel and Ina Mae Dillard
Hansford. Manita was mar
ried to Claud E. Lynch for
50 years until his death in
1996. She grew up in Sycamore, Ga., and was
a graduate of GSCW in Milledgeville, Ga.,
and Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.
Manita spent most of her adult life liv
ing in her beloved Albany, Ga., where she
took great pride in raising her two children.
She was an active member of First Baptist
Church for 43 years. She was active in many
organizations, such as the Albany Garden
Club, the Albany Woman’s Club, DAR, the
WMU and her Sunday School class. She
was the personification of a gracious, South
ern lady and was always quick to help her
friends and others. She enjoyed decorating
her home and collecting antiques and work
ing in her yard.
Manita is survived by her son and daugh-
ter-in-law Dr. Ed Lynch and Ginger Lynch
of Gainesville, Ga., and daughter and son-in-
law Susan Rosentreter and Bob Rosentreter
of Tucker, Ga.; grandchildren Holly (Chris)
Alewine, Taylor (Ashley) Lynch and Eliza
beth Weissinger. Her great-grandchildren
are Evan Alewine, Savannah Lynch and
Olivia Alewine.
Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m.
on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, in the chapel
of Memorial Park North Riverside Chapel,
989 Riverside Drive, Gainesville. Dr. Tom
Smiley will officiate. The family will receive
friends at the funeral home from 12:30 p.m.
until the funeral hour. Interment will follow
in Rose Hill Cemetery in Ashburn, Ga.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations
may be made to the Good News Clinics, 810
Pine St., Gainesville, GA 30501. Online dona
tions can be made at www.goodnewsclinics.
org.
Online condolences can be made at www.
memorialparkfuneralhomes.com.
Memorial Park North Riverside Chapel,
Gainesville
Sign the online guest book at
gainesvilletimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Dec. 19, 2018
Braganza Forrester Pitchford
July 26, 1929-Dec. 18,2018
Braganza Forrester Pitchford, 89, of Mur-
rayville passed away peacefully in the com
fort of her home on Tuesday, Dec. 18,2018.
Mrs. Pitchford was born on July 26,1929,
in Hall County to the late Ira Peter and Nora
Williams Forrester. She was immaculate
with keeping her home and a renowned
cook. She was a long-standing member of
Concord Baptist Church.
She was preceded in death by her loving
husband of 69 years William Ernest Pitch
ford; their daughter Rhonda Gail Pitchford;
and her parents.
Mrs. Pitchford is survived by her son and
wife Ira and Judy Pitchford; grandchildren
Melissa Pitchford Wilson, Billy Pitchford,
Melinda Pitchford Garland and husband
Jayson; great-grandchildren Kayla Jackson
and husband Jonathan, Cody Marchbanks,
Mattie Early, Alex Early, Anna Grace Gar
land; sister Polly Bower; sister-in-love Bar
bara Oliver Forrester.
Funeral services will be held Friday,
Dec. 21, 2018, at 11 a.m. at Concord Bap
tist Church in Clermont with interment to
follow. The family will receive friends on
Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018, 4-8 p.m. at Strick
land’s Funeral Home in Clermont.
Strickland Funeral Home, Clermont
Sign the online guest book at
gainesvilletimes.com.
The Times, Gainesville, Ga.
Dec. 19, 2018
DEATH NOTICES
Lucille Powers Buechler
Died Dec. 16,2018
Lucille Powers Buechler, 96, of Loganville
died Sunday. Funeral service, 3 p.m. Dec.
27, funeral home chapel. Bearden Funeral
Home, Dawsonville.
Jerome Mack Caudill
Died Dec. 18,2018
Jerome Mack Caudill, 74, of Hoschton
died Tuesday. Memorial Park South Funeral
Home, Flowery Branch.
Betty Jean Funk
July 6, 1929-Dec. 17, 2018
Betty Jean Funk, 89, of Mount Airy died
Monday. Funeral service, 2 p.m. Wednesday,
Dec. 19, funeral home chapel. McGahee-
Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home, Cornelia.
Willie Samuel Guffin Jr.
Died Dec. 17, 2018
Willie “William” Samuel Guffin Jr., 85, of
Cumming died Monday. Memorial service,
2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 21, John’s Creek Baptist
Church. McDonald and Son Funeral Home,
Cumming.
Cleveland Harris Haughton
Died Dec. 18, 2018
Cleveland Harris Haughton, 90, of Gaines
ville died Tuesday. Dexter T. Sims Mortuary,
Gainesville.
Harold Francis Kowalske II
Died Dec. 17, 2018
Harold Francis Kowalske II, 71, of Gaines
ville died Monday. Funeral service, 3 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 20, funeral home chapel.
Memorial Park Funeral Home, Gainesville.
John Dean Pritchard
April 12, 1935-Dec. 17, 2018
John Dean Pritchard, 83, of Mount Airy
died Monday. Graveside service, 3 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 20, Happy Valley Memorial
Park, Elizabethton, Tenn. Hillside Memorial
Chapel, Clarkesville.
Wayne Dale Rainwater
Died Dec. 16, 2018
Wayne Dale Rainwater, 72, of Buford died
Sunday. Graveside service will be held at a
later date in Louisiana. Flanigan Funeral
Home and Crematory, Buford.
Obituary information
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For additional information, please call
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INTRODUCING
Little & Davenport
Funeral Home
To inquire about pricing packages available to
memorialize a pet in print, please contact Megan Lewis
at 770-535-6371 or mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com
Pets at Peace will appear in The Times
the last Sunday of each month.
