In Memoriam – Spring 2014

John Francis Godbee Sr.
Former Georgia State Representative and Bulloch County Educator John F. Godbee Sr. (’49), died Feb. 27 in Statesboro. The former mayor of Brooklet taught school in Statesboro and Portal, and was principal of Southeast Bulloch High School for 16 years. He represented Bulloch, Jenkins, Candler and Screven counties in the state House of Representatives for 16 years as well, and served on several committees including chairing the House Education Committee for four years. Godbee also played an important role in helping Georgia Southern gain university status. He was named Alumnus of the Year in 1986.

Bertha Rose Watkins Carr
Former Bulloch County Teacher Bertha Rose Watkins Carr (’57) died on Feb. 17. She was the wife of the University’s late health and physical education professor, George Paul Carr Jr., and the mother of Georgia Southern professors Olivia Carr Edenfield and Elizabeth Carr Edwards. She taught at Portal Elementary School, Bryan County High School and Statesboro High. Carr served as the financial director for the Bulloch County Board of Education from 1978 until she retired in 2004. An avid golfer, Carr was also a member of the Archibald Bulloch Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Dr. Arnold “Arnie” Cooper
Retired dean of the College of Education at Georgia Southern, Arnold “Arnie” Cooper, Ph.D., passed away on Dec. 5, in Statesboro at age 72. A native of Philadelphia, Cooper was a student of African-American history. He combined scholarship with action and served as a Vista volunteer with the South Carolina Commission for Farm Workers in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Wesley Foundation at East Carolina University (North Carolina). Cooper earned his master’s degrees in history and educational administration, and a doctoral degree in the history of education.

Dr. Henry C. Iler
Henry C. Iler, Ph.D., a former chair of the Art Department at Georgia Southern, died in Statesboro on Mar. 14. Born in Gainesville, Georgia in 1934, Iler will always be remembered as an avid music lover and musician.

Dr. Robert Shanafelt
Anthropology Department Professor Robert Shanafelt, Ph.D., died after a long battle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Shanafelt was an expert on Africa and even spoke one of the African click languages. Before arriving at Georgia Southern, Shanafelt was interim assistant director for the Center for African Studies at the University of Florida and a folklorist for the Florida Department of State. A memorial service was held in the Carroll Building Atrium on April 12 for the former Peace Corps volunteer.

Robert Burns “Bobby” Jones
The captain of Georgia Southern’s first golf team, Robert Burns “Bobby” Jones (’65), died Nov. 26, 2013 in Perry, Georgia. A well-known golfer throughout the state, Jones was Director Emeritus of the Georgia State Golf Association. Jones was a member of Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity and the Kiwanis Club of Perry. Jones will always be remembered for leading young men in the game of golf, as well as making three holes-in-one in his life.

Mary Ellen Parrish Hannaford
Mary Ellen Parrish Hannaford (’50) of Woodbine, Georgia, died at Southeast Georgia Regional Medical Center on January 24. A native of Brooklet, Georgia, Hannaford was a graduate of Georgia Teachers College, now Georgia Southern University, and taught business education at Charlton County High School in Folkston. Known as an excellent cook, Hannaford also coordinated a cookbook titled, “Favorite Recipes From Our Best Cooks,” which has sold more than 4,500 copies nationwide since 1982.

Billie Turner Lane
Billie Turner Lane (’42) died Feb. 26 at the Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Facility in Statesboro. As a fourth grader, Lane won a trip to Washington, D.C., where she performed “Love Dreams” on the piano for President Herbert Hoover. In 1942, Lane was named May Day Queen. Jones returned to Georgia Southern in 1974 and earned an additional degree in organ performance. An active member of Statesboro First Baptist Church, Jones also served as pianist, violinist and organist for the congregation for nearly 60 years.

Sybil Jaynet Griner Johnston
Sybil Jaynet Griner Johnston (‘56) died Feb. 13 at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Savannah. Born in Screven County, Johnston received her master’s degree in counsel and guidance from Henderson State University in 1973. Afterward, she returned to Statesboro and began teaching at Southeast Bulloch Junior High. Eight years later, Johnston moved to William James Middle School, where she retired in 1992.

Don Gay Aaron Sr.
Don Gay Aaron Sr. (’70) of Sylvania, Georgia, died Feb. 15 at the Georgia Regents Medical Center in Augusta. With a B.B.A. from Georgia Southern, Aaron was President and CEO of Sylvania Yarn Systems. Active in his local church, Aaron was also a member of the First United Methodist Church of Sylvania and was on the Pastor Parish Committee.

Amy Rentz Avery
Amy Rentz Avery (‘98) of Piedmont, South Carolina, died Jan. 11. The Baxley, Georgia native earned her master’s in education, with honors, at Georgia Southern and taught special education in Georgia schools for more than a decade.

Ben Tillman
Ben Tillman (’42) passed away Feb. 20, at his home in Glennville, Georgia, surrounded by family. Tillman received a B.S. from Georgia Teachers College and taught school for seven years. He was also a veteran, having served in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II.

Sherry Ann Farmer Anderson
United Airlines pilot Sherry Ann Farmer Anderson (’79) of Phoenix, Arizona, and her husband Sherman Anderson, who also attended Georgia Southern, were killed Feb. 16, in a single-engine plane crash about a mile from the airport in Telluride, Colorado. Anderson, a native of Dublin, Georgia, and her husband, both worked as airline pilots for major commercial airlines and had decades of flying experience. Mary Haynes Fierle, her roommate in a sorority lodge, says Anderson always wanted to be a flight attendant but didn’t meet the height requirement so she learned how to be a pilot instead. Anderson was also an active member of Zeta Tau Alpha. She and her husband had been married for 33 years.

Nancy Pearson
Nancy Pearson (’64) of Brunswick, Georgia died Feb. 23 at Candler Hospital. Pearson graduated from Groves High School and Georgia Southern College, and taught high school in both Chatham and Camden Counties.

Clarence Alexander Miller
Clarence Alexander Miller (’57) of Sylvester, Georgia, died Feb. 15. A graduate of Portal High School and Georgia Teachers College, Miller was a noted attorney and served as a Judge of State Court in Worth County since 1981, only the third judge to hold this title since the court was created in 1917. Miller was also principal of Worth County High School from 1961 to 1965.

Sarah Elizabeth Townsend Boone
Sarah Elizabeth “Beth” Townsend Boone (’80, ’82, ’84) of Baxley, Georgia died Dec. 15, 2013. She was a third generation teacher and retired as principal of Altamaha Elementary School in Appling County. Boone was also a certified paramedic and held three degrees from Georgia Southern, including a B.S.Ed., M.Ed., and Ed.S.

Barbara Ann Swindle Wood
Barbara Ann Swindle Wood (’54) of Savannah died March 4. A teacher in Forsyth, Georgia, as well as Savannah, Wood earned her master’s in educational administration from Georgia Southern and was a reading specialist for Savannah/Chatham County Schools. Wood was also principal of Windsor Forest Elementary School for 13 years.

Gloria Sue Lane
Gloria Sue Lane (’71) died at her home in Atlanta after a brief illness. She was the niece of Professor Emeritus Betty Lane and received her bachelor’s in home economics from Georgia Southern as well as a master’s degree. Lane was a buyer for Rich’s following graduation and later became a flight attendant for Delta Airlines, where she received several commendations for outstanding service to passengers in distress.

Charles E. “Chuck” LeClair III
Charles E. “Chuck” LeClair III (‘88) passed away on Mar. 14 in Warner Robins, Georgia. LeClair earned his bachelor’s in criminal justice in 1988 from Georgia Southern, where we met his beloved wife Pamela. But it was as a stay-at-home dad where he thrived. LeClair was active in his children’s school activities and coached many of their sports teams throughout the years. Two of LeClair’s favorite hobbies included golf and photographing his family.

Robert “Bob” Aloysius Ware
Robert “Bob” Aloysius Ware (‘51) died in Jacksonville, Florida on Mar. 3. A graduate of Georgia Teachers College and the Naval Officer Candidate School, Ware worked for IBM after leaving a decorated career with the United States Navy. An active volunteer in retirement, Ware delivered food for Meals on Wheels and co-founded the Habijax Wednesday Gang, helping to build 1,500 homes for low income families. In his red suit and natural white beard, Ware even posed as Santa Claus for numerous children’s organizations during the holiday season. And because of his tremendous community involvement and charitable giving, the NFL and the Jacksonville Jaguars named him Volunteer Quarterback and the Volunteer of the Year in 2005.

Dr. Paul E. Ward
Paul E. Ward, Ph.D. (‘56), former superintendent of schools at Fort Stewart for more than 15 years, died in Savannah on Mar. 12 at age 77. Ward taught in the Savannah Public School System before being named the first principal of Windsor Forest Elementary School in 1961. The Atlanta native was also an avid outdoorsman and real estate agent.

Ashley Lawrence Womack
Ashley Lawrence Womack (‘84) died April 3 at Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge, Georgia. The Portal High School graduate served in the U.S. Air Force before beginning a career in the telecommunications industry. Born in Bulloch County, he enjoyed astronomy and spending time on the farm.

Bobbie Turner Lynch
Bobbie Turner Lynch (‘72, ‘75) died in March at the Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Facility in Statesboro. Lynch returned to college at age 45 to pursue her lifelong dream of being a teacher and worked as an educator with the Screven County Board of Education for 20 years. Following her retirement, Lynch worked at Georgia Southern as a teacher education supervisor for eight years.

Barbara Ann Barton
Barbara Ann Barton, a retired physical education teacher, (‘60) passed away on Mar. 13 at Effingham Extended Care in Effingham County, Georgia.

Johnnie Mae Gruber Lamkin
Johnnie Mae Gruber Lamkin (‘76) died Feb. 21 at the Allegro Assisted Living Facility in Tallahassee, Florida.

Myra Alice Tippins
Myra Alice Tippins (‘52) passed away in March at the McGraw House of the North Florida Community Hospice in Jacksonville, Florida.

Samantha Nicole Van Alstyne
Samantha Nicole Van Alstyne (‘11) died on April 5, at age 25, in Bonaire, Georgia.

Wendell Glenn Tyson
Wendell Glenn Tyson (‘73) died April 5 at the Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Facility in Statesboro.

Floyd D. Smith
Floyd D. Smith (‘62) passed away April 11 at Hospice Savannah. He was a member and deacon at First Baptist Church of Rincon.

Barbara Kennedy Durrence
Retired educator Barbara Kennedy Durrence (‘71, ‘84) died on April 19 at the Ogeechee Area Hospice Inpatient Facility in Statesboro.

Nicole Anne Phillips
Nicole Anne Phillips (‘93) died on April 21 in Atlanta, after a yearlong battle with breast cancer.

Esther Helen Kendrick Crumbley
Retired teacher Esther Helen Kendrick Crumbley (‘66) died on April 22. She taught for many years in Camden County and served on the city council in St. Marys, Georgia.