Jesup—Elizabeth "Betty" Culpepper Henry, 85, of Jesup died Aug. 4, 2016, after an extended illness.
The Toombs County native lived in Wayne County most of her adult life, was a member of Jesup First Baptist Church and of the BUREAN, DORCAS, NAOMI Sunday School Class. She served as director of special ministries many years, and as a volunteer with the Wayne Memorial Auxiliary.
She was the widow of Gilbert H. "Pope" Henry and was predeceased by her grandson, Jeremy Henry, and brothers, Warren Culpepper, Leo Thomas, W.H. Pomeroy and Wilton Pomeroy.
Survivors include a daughter and son-in-law, Cindy and Terry Jarrard of Odum; three sons and two daughters-in-law, Mike and Janice Henry of St. Petersburg, Fla., David and Tina Henry of Milledgeville, and Robert Henry of Statesboro; grandchildren, Jason Henry of Atlanta, Tiffany Copeland of Dacula, Chris Jarrard of Jesup, and Ashley Jarrard of Odum; two great-grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral service will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Jesup First Baptist Church with Dr. Felix Haynes and Dr. Mike Von Moss officiating. Interment will be in Pinecrest Memorial Cemetery.
Active pallbearers will be family and friends, Ned Nichols, Joe Warren, Harry Shuman, Randy Shuman, Bob McCrary and Jesse Pomeroy. Honorary pallbearers will be volunteers with Wayne Memorial Auxiliary.
Visitation will be held today (Saturday) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Capital Campaign, c/o of Jesup First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1115, Jesup, GA 31598.
Allen, Texas—Peggy Ann LaDuke, 62, of Allen, Texas, died on Aug. 3, 2016 of complications from Huntington's disease.
She was born Feb. 9, 1954, in Americus to Floyd and Lelia Spriggs. She graduated from Dahlonega High School in Dahlonega. She married Don LaDuke in 1977.
She was diagnosed with Huntington's disease in 2000. She spent the last 16 years courageously fighting the disease. Her wishes were for her body to be donated for Huntington's disease research in hopes of helping to find a cure for this dreaded disease.
Prior to her diagnosis, she worked in the insurance field until 1988, when she joined her husband in radio advertising sales. She and her husband owned and managed radio stations in Georgia, Texas and South Carolina. From 1986 to 1992 they owned WLOP/WIFO in Jesup.
From there, they managed several radio stations in Texas. In 1996, the LaDukes purchased WDKD/WWKT in Kingstree, S.C., and operated the two stations until 2001, when they sold the stations and retired. She received numerous awards for "best sales person" throughout her career and became a popular radio personality with "Miss Piggy" as her air name.
She enjoyed being with family and friends most of all. Her greatest joy in the ladder stages of her life was being around her grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her parents and one brother, Randy Bubba Spriggs.
She is survived by her husband, Don LaDuke of Allen, Texas; a daughter and son-in-law, Kristi and Carl Sizemore of Saltillo, Miss.; a sister and brother-in-law, Mackie and Mack Kimbrel of Leary; a brother and sister-in-law, Jerry and Amanda Spriggs of Morgantown; a sister-in-law, Lila Spriggs of Dahlonega; grandchildren, Colby LaDuke of Troy, Ala., Lelia Sizemore and Cooper LanDon Sizemore of Saltillo, Miss.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials in her honor made to the Huntington Disease Society of America. www.hdsa.org.
A memorial service will be scheduled at a later date in Dallas, Texas.
Dearborn, Mich.—Levon G. King, a native of Screven, and his wife, Gloria D. King, died July 22, 2016, in a small plane crash in Clark County, Ohio. They were returning from his 63rd class reunion of Screven High School.
Levon was valedictorian of his class and graduated from South Georgia College, Valdosta State College and Yale School of Divinity. He and his wife lived in Allen Park, Mich., where he was a minister and later an attorney. They had recently relocated to Dearborn to live in a retirement community.
Throughout his life, Levon had a love of flying and had flown since 1960, his family said. When he and his friends sold an airplane they owned together in 2008, he decided to build his own RV-9A aircraft. He had logged more than 60 hours in his plane and wanted to fly back home to Georgia. The class reunion provided the perfect reason to make the trip, according to his family.
He was known as a thorough, experienced pilot who was very conscientious about consulting the weather services for the most up-to-date information and would not fly when bad weather was predicted. He was flying the morning of the crash to avoid the anticipated afternoon thunderstorms. Instead, there was a "pop-up thunderstorm," which may have been involved in the crash, his family said.
Levon served as mayor of Allen Park from 1999 to 2003 and as the city administrator of Southgate, Mich., from 2005 to 2009. Southgate City Attorney Edward Zelenak said he worked with King for decades—both politically and privately—as both men were lawyers.
"I found him to be a man who listened to the needs of the residents and to the needs of the city," Zelenak said in an interview.
Allen Park Mayor William Matakas said King had urged him to run as mayor. "He was one of the most honest and wonderful person men I knew," he said.
Southgate Mayor Joseph Kuspa said he spoke with King just a few weeks ago. "He was still very much around the city and active in what we had going on," Kuspa said.
Gloria King was always supportive of everything her husband did and never sought the limelight, according to her family. Music bonded the couple together and both were experienced vocalists. She sang in many "downriver" choral groups and symphonies; he performed in a barbershop quartet. Both Kings sang in the choir at Allen Park Presbyterian Church, which they attended for decades.
They are survived by their daughter, Kate Altork, and her children, Lily and Jordan, all of North Carolina; a son and daughter-in-law, James and Linda Mush of Wyandotte, Mich., and their children James W. Mush of Wyandotte, Mich., Jason D. Mush of Beverly Hills, Mich., and Michael S. Mush of Fort Smith, Ark.; a son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Leigh Mush of San Fransisco, Calif., and their children, Paul, Steven, Aimee, Damien and Iliana; a son and daughter-in-law, Michael and Katie King of Birmingham, Mich., and their children, Maxwell, Nick and Nina; a daughter, Martha King, and her children Vaughan and Matthew of Ann Arbor, Mich.; a son, Jonathan King; a daughter, Marcie Judge, and her children Joshus and Cameron of Indiana.
They are also survived by Gloria's sister and brother-in-law, Diana and Kostas Voutsinas of Livonia, Mich., and their children, Niko and Michael; a niece and nephew-in-law, Mary Kay and Wayne Pryce of Northville, Mich., and their children, Kati and Steven; Levon's sister and brother-in-law, Mary King and John Flowers of Odum, and their daughter and son-in-law, Sherena and Bryant Arrington of St. Simons Island; two sisters-in-law, Betty King of Dallas, Texas, and Betty King of Fort Pierce, Fla.; and several nieces and nephews.
A memorial service was held July 29 in Allen Park, Mich. Their bodies were cremated, and their ashes were interred at the church.