It is with great sadness that we report the passing of two of our long time members,
Nancy Everett.
Nancy Gray Everett
Date:
March 24th, 1947 - January 19th, 2008
Obituary:
Truly a dedicated Christian woman evident to all who knew her, Nancy Gray
Everett went to join her Redeemer on Saturday, January 19, 2008, after a period
of declining health. She passed her last days at her home surrounded by those
who love her and whom she loved. Born to James D. (Jack) and Betty Chambers Gray
of the Ivy Log community on March 24, 1947, she accepted the Lord as an
adolescent. As an adult, she helped to bring vitality, spiritual growth,
children’s programs and activities, tremendous VBS’s for many years, and local
missions through her involvement at Ivy Log Baptist Church of which she was a
member. For more than 30 years, she published and distributed a monthly
newsletter and served as church secretary, both voluntary positions. She taught
several age levels of Sunday School, usually working with the youth, and she was
a member of the choir. Preceded in death by her parents and grandparents, Nancy
is survived by her beloved and devoted husband Rufus Everett, her love of a
lifetime. Surviving also are a sister and brother-in-law Gwenelda and Larry
Connally, a brother and sister-in-law Bruce and Mazie Gray, all of Blairsville,
and a sister and brother-in-law Sherry Gray and Morris Brown of Mebane. NC. A
sister-in-law and husband Evelyn and Hobert Payne of Blairsville also survive.
Though she and Rufus had no birth children of their own , they were second
parents and actively involved in their upbringing to nieces and nephews Rachel
Lance, Gary Payne, Anna Roxbury, Katy Jones, Laina Elliott, Mason and Clay
Dorsett, and Bethany Garner, also surviving. She was their second mother and
they loved, respected, and obeyed her as such. Five great nieces and four great
nephews also survive Mrs. Everett. Nancy’s formal education included Ivy Log
School, graduation with the class of 1965 Union County High School, and a
secretarial/business practices diploma from North Georgia Technical School in
Clarksville, GA, in 1966. She was an intelligent and dedicated student who
excelled in school. Always an avid reader until her sight failed and a voracious
letter-writer, she corresponded with relatives, friends, inmates through a
prison ministry, and sent cards to those whom she knew needed a kind word and a
prayerful heart on their behalf. For many years, she took care of the
correspondence and orchestrated an Angel Tree Christmas gift program for
children of men and women prisoners of the local area, usually delivering them
herself with the help of her nieces. She also volunteered in her sister’s high
school classroom as “parent” volunteer. Instrumental in helping to found and
organize the Good Neighbors Auto Club, she and Rufus handled much of the
correspondence and planning for the club’s signature event, a car show held
during Blairsville’s Sorghum Festival. She was a homemaker, a wonderful cook,
and a bookkeeper for Everett’s Body Shop which her husband owns and operates. A
behind-the-scenes worker, Nancy sought no recognition through a life of service
to her family, her friends, her church, and her community. Numerous individuals
and organizations have been the recipients of Nancy’s generous nature, her
unwavering commitment to service, her sage advice and considerable financial
support. As a granddaughter and a daughter, Nancy was responsible, respectful,
loyal, steadfast, and level headed as well as obedient and self-disciplined. She
was patient, loving, and selfless when her grandparents then her parents became
elderly and required assistance. As a sister, she was trustworthy, wonderfully
creative, an anchor, a confidante, a fearless leader, and our heroine and
“boss.” As a second mother and a beloved aunt, she was free-spirited, greatly
adventurous, encouraging, ingenious with games, puzzles and activities, and
always available to aid in their pranks and jokes. She had a wonderful sense of
humor and a rapier-sharp wit she could unleash if necessary. To all of us, she
became a positive role model, a constant on whom folks could depend, and a
source of strength and purpose. And in death she exhibited courage beyond
measure and a faith beyond doubt. She is our “shining mark.” Services for Mrs.
Everett included visitation on Sunday January 20, 2008, from 6:00 until 9:00 pm
and the funeral service on Monday January 21, 2008 at 3:00 pm at Cochran Funeral
Home in Blairsville with Brothers Jerry Karnes and Tony Black officiating. At
her request, in lieu of flowers, one may donate to Gideon’s International or Ivy
Log Baptist Church cemetery fund. Family members have also established a
scholarship fund at United Community Bank in her honor. Donations may be sent to
Laina Elliott at 3876 Ivy Log Road, Blairsville, GA. 30512. Casket bearers are
Chris Anderson, Clay Dorsett, Mason Dorsett, Donald Elliott, Steve Garner, Jon
Jones, Matt Lance, Larry Lunsford, Robby Roxbury, and Rick Spies. Honorary
pallbearers are Gene Sprayberry and Marcus Sosebee. Interment at Ivy Log Baptist
Church Cemetery follows the service. Cochran Funeral Home of Blairsville
entrusted with the arrangements for our loved one.
Visitations:
6:00PM to 9:00PM on Sunday, January 20th, 2008 at Cochran Funeral Home
Blairsville (map/driving directions)
Services:
3:00PM at Cochran Funeral Home Blairsville on Monday, January 21st, 2008
(map/driving directions)
Obituary from the Cochran Funeral Home Site
James Armistead
Jim at the 2007 Addington Reunion
Date:
April 26, 1929 to November 8, 2007
James O. Armistead
went home to be with the Lord on November 8, 2007. He was 78.
He was born April 26, 1929 in Rutledge , GA
to the late Walter B. and Ruby L. (Wright) Armistead. A
Korean War veteran, he served in the U.S Navy from 1948 to 1952, aboard the
USS Stickell. Mr.
Armistead was a 1956 graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology. He
retired from the DuPont Company
after 30 years of service. He relocated back to Georgia in 1988.
He is survived by his wife of 56 years,
Melva (Addington) Armistead; daughter, Deborah ( Armistead)
Zimmerman; granddaughter, Jessica,; and grandson, Robert J. (Bobby), all of
Rutledge , GA ; son, James
F. Armistead, and his wife, Pamela; grandsons, Matthew and Daniel; and
granddaughter, Jennifer, all of
Newark , DE ; sister, Dorothy Addington and husband,
Chester of Westerville, OH.; brother, Marvin
Armistead and wife, Gladys of Conyers , GA ; sister-in-law, Betty Armistead
of Monticello , GA; and several
nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his brother Fred Armistead.
Funeral services were held at Prospect
United Methodist Church , (Fairplay) Rutledge , GA and
internment was in Social Circle, GA.
Obituary from the local newspaper