Mr. Joel Edwin Cook, Sr., age 81, of Lyerly, GA, died Monday, March 16, 2015, at his residence.

Mr. Cook was born February 13, 1934, in Lyerly, GA, son of the late Roy F. and Addie Lou Henderson Cook.  He was a member of the Sardis Baptist Church and was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, having served in the Korean War.  He was retired from Mohawk and had worked with the Chattooga County Board of Education for 22 years.  In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Betty Jo Bankson Cook.

Mr. Cook is survived by his sons, Joel E. Cook, Jr. and Anthony E. Cook; a daughter, Margaret J. Cook; a sister, Mary D. Pickle; grandchildren, Shane Cook and Rosa Cook; and great-grandchildren, Steven Cook, Michael Cook, and Jacob Cook.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete and will be announced later by Mason Funeral Home.

Mason Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Mr. Joel Edwin Cook, Sr. who died on Monday.

 Mr. James Wesley Simmons, age 73, of Summerville, GA, passed away Friday March 13, 2015, in Redmond Regional Medical Center.

Mr. Simmons was born August 15, 1941, in Trion, GA, the son of the late James Thomas and Julia Ethel Stansell Simmons.  He was retired from Mohawk Carpet Mills, and preceded in death by his 1st wife, Shirell T. Simmons, and grandson, William J. Simmons.

Survivors include his wife, Dorothy Simmons to  whom he was married for 31 years, children, Jody Simmons, Charles & Michelle Simmons, Raymond & Annette Jones, Amie Simmons, Jamie & Ralph Eskew, Cindy & David Westbrooks, Angel & Danny Wilcox, sisters, Evelyn Sensenbaugh, Joyce Hines, Ann Johnson, brothers, Carlton Simmons, Robert Simmons, 17 grandchildren, 23 great-grandchildren.

Funeral service for Mr. James Wesley Simmons will be held 2:00 p.m. Tuesday March 17, 2015 from the Mason Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Rickey Biddle and Rev. Lavonne Humphres officiating with interment in the Littlejohn Cemetery. Active pallbearers, Raymond Jones, JR,  Josh Wilcox, Chad Barnes, Bailee Jones, Terry Bryant, Steve Morrison, Jay Miller, and Tommy Miller.  Honorary pallbearers, Employee’s of Floyd Health Care.

Mr. Simmons will be in state at the Mason Funeral Home and the family will receive friends Monday from 6 to 8 p.m.

Mason Funeral Home is in charge of the funeral arrangements for Mr. James Wesley Simmons who died on Friday.

Ralph DeBerry, age 93, passed on Friday. He was a long time resident of the Mt. View community in Rossville, GA. He was born on July 9th, 1921 in Rome, GA. to his parents Zack DeBerry and Essie Anderson DeBerry, He worked at Combustion Engineering as a nuclear tooling engineer where he helped design the last nuclear reactor that was built there. This reactor is still in service on the USS Nimitz. Later he worked at Salem Equipment and Borg Textile. Ralph was also the owner DeBerry’s Custom Picture Frames for 25 years. He is also a member of the Rossville Masonic Lodge # 397.
Ralph is preceded in death by his parents, four brothers that include Brondon DeBerry, Roland DeBerry, Raymond DeBerry and Ray DeBerry along with one sister; Bonnie Gill.

He is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Selma J. DeBerry, three sons that include James Ralph DeBerry of Marietta, GA., David Battles of Attalla, AL. and Wayne Conley (Sheila) of Gadsden, AL. He also leaves behind one daughter, Peggy DeBerry of Gadsden, AL. and one brother, Rev. Sanford DeBerry of Trion, GA. along with several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday at the Heritage Battlefield Chapel at 2:00 p.m. with the Rev. Sanford DeBerry and Rv. Billy Cantrell officiating. Pallbearers include George Holmes, Mark Ragsdale, Tony Battles, David Cohen, Steve Cohen and Joshua Darnell. Honorary pallbearers will be Dylan, Dustin and Derek Lee, Robert and Chris Gaylor.

The family will receive friends Sunday from 4-8 and Monday 5-8 at Heritage Funeral Home, Battlefield Parkway.
In lieu of flowers please give to the charity of your choice

Mason Funeral Home of Summerville makes the funeral announcement of Ralph DeBerry for the family.

Mrs. Wanda Jean “Wannie” Lee, age 50, of Summerville, Georgia passed away Thursday, March 12, 2015 at the Floyd Medical Center.

Mrs. Lee was born in Centre, Alabama on January 3, 1965, daughter of Eva Jo LuAllen Pierce and the late Bernie Pierce. She had been employed with J-Bar as a Press Operator and had also worked for C.W. Matthews and Spriggs Paving Companies. Mrs. Lee was an avid Georgia Bulldog Fan and was the honorary Mayor of the “Boogie Barn” also known as the Barn Dance. In addition to her father, Mrs. Lee was preceded in death by a son , Austin Rye Lee; brother, Lee Pierce, and her husband, Ronald Bobby Lee, Jr.

Mrs. Lee is survived by children and their spouses, Candy and Josh Dawson, Tameca and Randall Lamb, Layla Lee and Rocky Hatfield; step-children, Keith Lee, John Lee, and Jessica Lee; mother, Eva Jo Pierce; brothers, Robert Pierce and James Pierce; sisters, Kathy Pierce and Diane Gazaway; grandchildren, Ryan Rowland, Abby Dawson, Bella and Alisha Godfrey; special friend of 45 years, Kathy Terry, and a number of nieces and nephews.

Funeral Services for Mrs. Lee will be held Monday, March 16, 2015 at 1:00 P.M. in the Petitt Chapel of the Coffman Funeral Home with Rev. Larry Scoggins officiating. Interment will follow in the Lyerly Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Keith Lee, Ashley Wilkes, Kevin Godfrey, Josh Ables, Christopher Pierce and Darren McGuire. Honorary Pallbearers will be Marty Woods, Randall Lamb and Rocky Hatfield.

Mrs. Lee will be in state at the Coffman Funeral Home and the family will receive friends Sunday afternoon from 4:00 P.M. until 6:00 P.M.

Coffman Funeral Home, Petitt Chapel is honored to be serving the family of Mrs. Wanda Jean Lee. 

Mr. David Allan Chesley, age 59, of Summerville, GA, died Thursday, March 12, 2015, from injuries received in an automobile accident. Mr. Chesley was born August 15, 1955, son of Allan and Joyce Chesley. He was retired from the Trion Fire Department after 20 years of service.

Mr. Chesley had served for numerous years as a baseball and football coach with the Trion Recreation Department. He was currently employed as an electrician with International Paper.

Mr. Chesley is survived by his wife, Jeannie Elizabeth Heffron Chesley; son and daughter-in-law, Rick and Laura Chesley; daughter, Crysty Cornett; parents, Allan and Joyce Chesley; brothers, Harold Chesley and Paul Chesley; sister, Nola Chesley Lovitz; grandchildren, Melanie Cornett, Clay Chesley, Wyatt Chesley, Hayden Tomlin, Rylan Tomlin, and Khamdyn Tomlin.

Funeral services for Mr. Chesley will be held at 4:00 P.M. Saturday, March 14, 2015, from the Mason Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Skip Mitchell officiating. Mr. Chesley will be in state at Mason Funeral Home and the family will receive friends from 2:00 P.M. until the hour of service on Saturday.

Mason Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements for Mr. David Allan Chesley who died on Thursday.

Mr. Winston D. Martin passed away on Tuesday, March 10, 2015. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, March 13, 2015 at 11AM in Victory Baptist Church with Rev. Kenneth Walker officiating. Mr. Martin will lie in state from 10AM until the funeral hour. Interment will follow at Baldwin Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 12, 2015 from 6-8PM at Williams Funeral Home of Milledgeville.

Mr. Martin was born in Taft, Alabama and lived all of his adult life in Menlo, Georgia until moving to Milledgeville in 1972. He was a Veteran of the US Army and worked as the Central Office Equipment Supervisor for GTE, General Telephone, until 1993 when he retired. Mr. Martin went on to open a private telecommunications business. He was a member of Victory Baptist Church.
Mr. Martin was preceded in death by his father, Fred Coley Martin; his mother, Cledie Laverdie Timmerman Martin; a brother, Billy Martin; and a sister, Margaret Kirk. 

Mr. Martin is survived by his wife, Laverne Hayes Martin of Lake Sinclair; daughters, Myra Martin Blevins of Trenton and Tammie Martin (David) Greene of Macon; brothers, Wallace (Ellen) Martin of Menlo, Charlie (Kay) Martin of Oklahoma and Greg (Debbie) Martin of Cloud Land Mountain; grandchildren, Clint (Amber) Mitchell of Lafayette, Delana Blevins (Taylor) Barton of Trenton and David (Caitlin) Greene, Jr. of Macon; and one great-grandchild, Rachel Mitchell of Lafayette. 

Flowers accepted and for those who wish the family has requested contributions be made to Victory Baptist Church, 640 Meriwether Rd, Milledgeville GA 31061.

Mr. Jerry Houston Miller, age 68, of Halls Valley Drive, Trion, Georgia, passed away Sunday, March 01, 2015 at his residence following an extended illness.

Mr. Miller was born in Niles, Michigan on June 27, 1946, son of the late Houston Lewis Miller and Pearl Ethel Johnson Miller. He was a member and head elder of the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and prior to retirement, was employed with Lester Inc., and was a nursing tech at Floyd Medical Center. Mr. Miller was a veteran of the Vietnam War, serving in the United States Army, and was preceded in death by his sister, Karen Levinson.

Mr. Miller is survived by his wife, Violet G. Miller of Trion; sons and daughters-in-law, Matthew Scott and Melissa Miller of Noblesville, Indiana and Nicholas Gerald and Christine Miller of Berea, Kentucky; eight grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.

Memorial Services for Mr. Miller will be held Saturday, March 14, 2015 at 4:00 P.M. in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 396 Bellah Avenue, Summerville, Georgia, with Pastor Edward Skoretz officiating. Interment will be held privately at a later date.

Coffman Funeral Home, Petitt Chapel is honored to be serving the family of Mr. Jerry Houston Miller.