Worth County, Georgia Obituaries

J.H. Branch
J.H. "JOHNIE" BRANCH, 88, of Lake Wales died Tuesday at Lake Wales Medical Centers Inc. A native of Worth County, Ga., he moved to Polk County from Holmes County in 1953. He was retired equipment-maintenance supervisor for the Citrus World plant, past master of Etna Masonic Lodge in New Hope and member of West Side Baptist Church and Lake Wales Masonic Lodge. He is survived by his wife, Lillie Rue C.; two sons, Earl of Lake Wales and Rex of Orlando; a daughter, Betty Padgett of Lake Wales; seven grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren. Marion Nelson Funeral Home, Lake Wales
--Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - September 17, 1997; contributed by A. Newell.

Mary Burch
MARY BURCH, 90, of Clermont died Tuesday at Lake Highland Nursing Center. A native of Worth County, Ga., she moved to the area in 1988 from Cocoa Beach. She was a homemaker. She is survived by five sisters, Reta Barnhill and Madge Smith, both of Wahneta, Robbie Boxton of Highland City, Alice Crostone of Winter Haven and Margaret Davis of Minneola; and a brother, Theron Crews of Fitzgerald, Ga. Crisp-Coon Funeral Homes Inc., Winter Haven.
--Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - January 11, 1996; contributed by A. Newell.

Sarah E. Conley
-- 86, South Observatory Drive, Orlando, died Wednesday, Sept. 11. Mrs. Conley was a former supervisor for Hospital Environment Services. Born in Worth County, Ga., she moved to Central Florida in 1950. She was a member of Faith Assembly Church. Survivors: sons, Ernest, Lloyd, both of Orlando, Leonard, Geneva; daughter, Pearl Gregory, Orlando; sisters, Era Bevins, Moultrie, Ga., Eva Castleberry, Sylvester, Ga.; brother, Gilbert Castleberry, Columbus, Ga.; 16 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild. Dobbs Funeral Home, West Orlando Chapel.
--Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) - September 13, 1996; contributed by A. Newell.

Zebedee B. Hall
ZEBEDEE B. HALL, 76, of Port Charlotte died Friday in Punta Gorda. A native of Worth County, Ga., he moved to Punta Gorda six years ago from Tampa. He was a retired meat cutter for Bern's Steakhouse of Tampa for 30 years, Army Air Corps veteran of World War II, and Baptist. He is survived by three daughters, Melba Lee Brown of Columbus, Ga., Paicilla Rose Taylor of Largo and Barbara Karen Biehl of Punta Gorda; three sons, Dennis B. of Garland, Texas, Wallace B. of Punta Gorda, and David H. Hardy of Cocoa; a brother, Wiley Jr. of Cordele, Ga.; three sisters, Eunice Watson of Demapolis, Ala., and Lorene Arnold and Lois Brown, both of Columbus, Ga.; 15 grandchildren; and nine great-grandchildren. Blount, Curry & Roel Funeral Homes, Garden of Memories Chapel, Tampa.
--Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - October 5, 1997; contributed by A. Newell.

John A. Hanes
Bullet Wound in Head Fatal to Oakfield Man.
John A. Hanes Kills Himself in Albany Hotel
Albany, Jan, 9.—John A. Hanes, a prominent citizen of Oakfield, and member of the board of commissioners of Worth county, died here at 1 o'clock this afternoon of a self-inflicted pistol wound in the head. He left notes to Rev. Lainar Sims, pastor of the First Baptist church, of Albany; to Brooks Ford, postmaster of Sylvester, who is his nephew, and to Mrs. W. J. Ford, of Sylvester, his sister.
In these notes, which were written in a firm, clear hand, and at some length, he stated that his rash act was committed because of his intense suffering from neuralgia. He had been at the Terminal hotel, in this city, since Sunday night, and was found in a dying condition about noon today, when loud breathing was heard coming from his room. He was lying, partially dressed, in the bath tub, with a pistol in his right hand. He died soon after he was found. No one heard the fatal shot. The bullet went through the head, causing ugly wounds where it entered the skull and passed out.
His nephew, Brooks Ford, of Sylvester, was notified by wire and hurried to Albany. Though the deceased, in the notes left behind, requested that he be buried at Oakfield, and that Rev. Lamar Sims conduct the funeral there Sunday, it was decided to take the body to Jackson, Ga., his old home, and bury him there beside his father and dead brother.
He leaves one brother, George H. Hanes, of Atlanta; two sisters, Mrs. F. M. Allen, of Jackson, and Mrs. W. J. Ford, of Sylvester; and his aged mother, Mr. J. J. Hanes, of Jackson. He was about fifty years of age and unmarried. The funeral party left to-night at 9 o'clock on the Central of Georgia for Jackson.
[Macon Weekly Telegraph, 10 Jan 1915 - Submitted by a Friend of Free Genealogy]

Dora Mae Jackson
DORA MAE JACKSON, 57, 44 Halbe Ave., Orlando, died Saturday. Born in Worth County, Ga., she moved to Orlando from there in 1947. She was a table lady for National Linen Co. She was a member of Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, Orlando. Survivors: daughter, Shirley, Deloris, Lawnda, Evangelina, all of Orlando; father, Louis Farrie, Ashburn, Ga.; Eddie J. Farrie, Orlando; sister, Deloris Robertson, Ashburn. Mitchells Funeral Home, Orlando.
--Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) - November 6, 1988; contributed by A. Newell.

Iva Knight
Mrs. Iva Lee Howell Knight, 69, of Doerun, Ga., and formerly of Bartow County, died Thursday, May 6, 1999, at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. Mrs. Knight was born in Worth County, Ga., on Jan. 13, 1930, the daughter of James Philmore Howell and Gertrude Thompson Howell. A homemaker, she was a member of Liberty Hill Baptist Church and volunteered as a Pink Lady at Baptist Hospital of Worth County for several years. She returned to Worth County from Bartow County five years ago. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dewey Knight, and a son, David Bruton.
Survivors include three daughters, Patricia Amos of Cartersville and Beverly Smith and Delores Lee, both of Marietta; two sons, Michael Bruton and Tommy Welty, both of Cartersville; five sisters, Jeanette Thomas of Marietta, Verlin Giddens of Lakeland, Fla., and Doris Camp, Faye Delk and Carol Thompson, all of Doerun; two brothers, Max Howell of Leesburg, Ga., and Winton Howell of Marietta; 15 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. The family received friends Saturday from 2 to 3 p.m. at Liberty Hill Baptist Church.
The funeral was held Saturday, May 8, at 3 p.m. at Liberty Hill Baptist Church with Rev. Doug Hatcher officiating. Interment will be on Sunday, May 9, at 1 p.m. at Georgia Memorial Park in Marietta. Banks Funeral Home, P.O. Box 550, Sylvester, Ga., has charge of the arrangements.
--Daily Tribune News, The (Carterville, GA) - May 10, 1999; contributed by A. Newell.

Rebecca Pope
REBECCA POPE, 67, of Tampa died Saturday. A native of Worth County, Ga., she moved to the Tampa area in 1947. She was owner and operator of Pope's Utility Building and member of East Chelsea Baptist Church. She is survived by her husband, Ulmer J.; five daughters, Brenda Langston of Thonotosassa, Elaine Rich of Cummin, Ga., Karon Ansley of Whigham, Ga., Sharon Thomas of Thonotosassa and Sheila Seegar of Seffner; three sisters, Beulah Mae Hudson of Macon, Ga., Illa Baxley of Doerun, Ga., and Earnest Eason of Tifton, Ga.; 10 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. Stowers Funeral Home, Brandon.
--Tampa Tribune, The (FL) - November 17, 1997; contributed by A. Newell.


Elizabeth H. Sims
-- 74, Jennings, died Wednesday, Feb. 21. Mrs. Sims was a retired instructor at Romar's Hairstyling Academy, Orlando. Born in Worth County, Ga., she moved to Jennings from Orlando in 1983. She was a member of Ocilla Baptist Church, Ocilla, Ga. Survivors: son, Jimmy L., Jennings; daughter, Angela S. Collins, Jennings; sisters, Mary Lou Dukes, Milton, Katie Evans, Clermont, Addine Morgan, Martha Wynn, both of Tifton, Ga. Paulk Funeral Home, Ocilla.
--Orlando Sentinel, The (FL) - February 26, 1996; contributed by A. Newell.