Chickenfat: Children of William Elijah Joseph and Frances Viola Petty

The children of William Elijah Joseph and Frances Viola Ridley Petty.

1sr Row, L-R: LaVonne, Marybeth, Georgia, Cecil, Osmo, Eddie. 2nd Row: Jeannette holding Billy, Wallace, Thelma, Opal holding Anthony, Janie, Harriet, Frances, Rhonda, 3rd Row: Leonard, Mary Jo, Tom, Walt, Ed, Roy, Viola, and Sarah.

Infant Petty after 1904 and before 1906. She died at birth.

Georgianne Petty (1906-1966). Georgia was the oldest child that lived. she was born in Murray County, Georgia, and died in Chattanooga, Hamilton, Tennessee, at age 59. She married Cecil Grant (1901-1958).

Cecil worked at a thread manufacturing company in Chattanooga. They also lived in Chattanooga in a small house and they drove a small car. They were a small couple. Georgia did not work.

Cecil had several interests that I know of. He only got one week vacation a year and they came to Marietta. Each year he left Georgia with her sisters and brothers and he went alone to the Southeastern Fair at the Lakewood Fairgrounds on Moreland Avenue and stayed all day. I would say he let his hair down that one day a year but he was baldheaded. I remember on one of their visits, when I was about 4 or 5 years old I asked him could I spin a top on his head.. He also had a mandolin that I think he practiced at and could play. He also love old western movies with stars like Lash LaRue, Hoppalong Cassidy, Johnny MacBrown and more. He built him a little house in back o their house that he kept a 16MM movie projector in that he would go up after dinner and watch a movie. I don't think they had a TV. One day he was top of the little house he repairing the roof when he hit a nail with a metal hammer with hit a live electrical wire that instantly electrocuted him at age 57.

Georgia was a deeply religious person. She also was nervous and high strung with a horse voice. She got to be more of fire and brimstone and burn in hell kind of religious extremist as she got older. She lived 59 years.

They had no children. They are buried at West Hill Cemetery in Dalton, Georgia.

Thomas Jefferson Petty (1908-1979). Thomas was the oldest son and I think he and his father were close. But with the rest of the family Tom seemed aloof. He was not close to any of his siblings as far as I know; he kept his distance, if not in physical measurement but emotionally. One time my parents paid an unannounced visit to him and his wife Mary Jo and they did not come to the door. they rang the doorbell, knocked on the door, beat on the door, holllered at them, just inside an open window in the summer time and they just didn't open the door.

When the family picked cotton in what they called "The Red Hills" Tom did not stick around he left to seek his fortune. He returned after a short time claiming he was blind and could not work picking cotton. His father seemed to always be making excuses for him.

At age 24, 12 November 1932, Tom married 19 year old Mary Jo Johns of Gordan County, Georgia.

Tom was a carpenter by trade and he and Mary Jo belonged to a gospel group that made tours. In the late 1940s or early 1950s Tom and Mary Jo moved to Marietta. Tom did part of the remodeling of our house on Manget Street. As he did carpentry cabinet work he always wore a tie and derby hat. He got into trouble a couple of times in Marietta by taking money from people with the promise of doing some cabinet remodeling form them and not show up to do the job. his own brother-in-law (Daddy), had to arrest him. He and Mary Jo eventually moved back to the Dalton-Chattanooga area where they spent the rest of his life. After he died she moved back with her family in Calhoun, Georgia.

They had no children. Tom died on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1979, at age 71, and Mary Jo died February 2000 at age 86. They are buried at West Hill Cemetery, in Dalton, Georgia.

Wallace Charles Petty (1910 - 2007). Wallace was born in Murray County, Georgia. He and his brother Tom rode with their father back east from Wyoming in a covered wagon that also had their livestock in tow. I think that trip was quality time that in a sense cause Elijah to respect Wallace. One time Wallace saw his father beating his mother and told Elijah to not ever do that again, and Elijah obeyed.

Wallace got his education and because a teacher in Spring Place in Murray County, Georgia. At age 28, He married another teacher there Thelma Jeannette Cox (1908-1994), age 31, in Whitfield County, Georgia. They had four daughters.

Wallace became the principal at the school. That was his day time job. His off hours job was his farm. They had a hen house to produce eggs and machinery commercially handle and sort eggs They also had cattle.

Wallace was offered a position with the Georgia State Rehabilitation Department in Augusta. He took it and the family moved there. After establishing his abilities in Augusta upward mobility came. He was promoted to a higher position in Milledgeville.

Wallace lived 96 years and Thelma lived 85 years. They are buried in Baldwin Memorial Gardens, Milledgeville, Baldwin Co., Georgia.

Wallace Charles Petty [2333], son of William Elijah Joseph Petty [161] and Frances Viola Ridley [162], was born on 9 Sep 1910 in , Murray Co., GA, died on 20 Jun 2007 at age 96, and was buried in Baldwin Memorial Gardens, Milledgeville, Baldwin Co., Ga.

General Notes: When he was a principal in Springplace, Ga., he also had one (maybe more) long chicken house(s). He also had several black cattle.

1988 - He moved to an assisted living home in Augusta, Ga

2003 - He moved to a nursing home in Milledgeville, Ga

Noted events in his life were:

• He was employed. School teacher, Principal, Head of Rehibilitation

• His obituary was published. Wallace Charles Petty Click here to View and Sign Guest Book

Wallace Charles Petty -MILLEDGEVILLE - Wallace Charles Petty age 96, died June 20, 2007. Services will be at 2P.M. Saturday at the chapel of Moores Funeral Home with Dr. Harold Lawrence and Dr. Jay Hodges officiating. Burial will follow at Baldwin Memorial Gardens. -Mr. Petty was a native of Murray County but had made his home in Milledgeville since 1960. He graduated from Lincoln Memorial University, with graduate studies at the University of Georgia. He served as a principal at elementary and high school levels in Murray County, while maintaining a farm in Spring Place, GA. In 1954, he accepted a position with the Georgia Dept. of Education with Vocational Rehabilitation and relocated to Augusta. In 1960, he assumed responsibility as Director, in writing and implementing the Vocational Rehabilitation Program at The Yarborough Center at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville. In 1973, he retired at Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville. In 1992, he was elected to the Educator's Hall of Fame at Lincoln Memorial University. He was preceded in death by his wife, Thelma J. (Cox) Petty. He was a member of First United Methodist Church. -Survivors include four daughters: Harriet Roney (Sam) of Augusta, Rhonda Thweatt (John) of Cocoa, FL, Mary Beth Russell and Cheryl Pounds (Roy) of Milledgeville; eight grandchildren; twelve great-grandchildren. -In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to Alzheimer's Association or First United Methodist Church of Milledgeville. -The family will receive friends Saturday from 1:00 until 2:00 at Moores Funeral Home. -Visit www.mooresfuneralhome.com to express tributes.

Published in The Telegraph on 6/21/2007.

Guest Book • Flowers • Gift Shop

Wallace married Thelma Jeanette Cox [2344] [MRIN: 1008], daughter of George Henry "Dock" Cox [2378] and Mary Ann "Mae" McHann [2379], on 10 Jul 1939 in , Whitfield Co, GA. Thelma was born on 18 May 1908 in , Murray Co., GA, died on 22 Jan 1994 in Millegeville, , GA at age 85, and was buried in Baldwin Memorial Gardens, Milledgeville, Baldwin Co., Ga. They had four children: Harriet Ann, Rhonda Sue, Mary Beth, and Cheryl Jane.

Noted events in her life were:

• She was employed. School teacher

Harriet Ann Petty [2345] was born on 30 Apr 1939.

Noted events in her life were:

• She was employed. School principal - retired - Real Estate

Harriet married Samuel George Roney III [2349] [MRIN: 1009] in 1960 in , Richmond Co, GA. They had one son: Samuel George "Bo".

Noted events in his life were:

• He was employed. Real estate

Samuel George "Bo" Roney IV [2350] was born about 1965.

General Notes: His college was interupted during when his reserve unit was called up during the Gulf War. He hopes to finish.

Noted events in his life were:

• He was employed. Auto sales

Samuel married Susan [2351] [MRIN: 1010]. The marriage ended in divorce. Susan was born in , , , Italy. They had one son: Austin.

Noted events in her life were:

• She was employed. Teacher

Austin Roney [2352] was born about 1994.

Rhonda Sue Petty [2346] was born on 18 Dec 1941 in , Murray Co., GA.

General Notes: Rhonda's degree/major was in art. At one point she went to the University of Florida to get her Masters degree in art. Her major career has been professional artist during which she entered lots of shows, selling her product for good prices. At one time she had a studio. Her teaching career has been to teach art, mainly clay sculpture at community colleges. - Harriet Petty Roney.

Noted events in her life were:

• She was employed. Artist

Rhonda married John Dorman Thweatt [2353] [MRIN: 1011] on 30 Mar 1963 in , Baldwin Co, GA. John was born on 15 Jan 1938 in Atlanta, Fulton Co, GA, died on 30 Oct 2012 in , White Co, GA at age 74, and was buried in Cremated. They had two children: Wallace Charles and Lisa Marie.

Noted events in his life were:

• He was employed. School Teacher

Wallace Charles Thweatt [2354] was born on 2 Mar 1965 in Augusta, Richmond Co, GA.

Noted events in his life were:

• He enjoyed hobbies. Genealogy

Lisa Marie Thweatt [2355] was born on 16 Mar 1967 in Melborne, , FL.

Lisa married Daniel Elliot Kornegay [2356] [MRIN: 1012] on 17 Dec 1988. Daniel was born on 30 Jun 1968. They had three children: Matthew, Joanna, and Katie.

Matthew Kornegay [2357]¹ was born about 1993.

Joanna Kornegay [2358] was born about 1997.

Katie Kornegay [2359] was born about 2000.

Mary Beth Petty [2347] was born on 30 Nov 1944 and died on 4 Jul 2008 at age 63.

Medical Notes: Marybeth has now been determined by second opionion to have Lou Gerig disease, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis). The outlook is not good, no cure as you know, and it progresses pretty rapidly to ultimately end life. email from her sister Harriet 10/20/2006.

Noted events in her life were:

• She was employed. Nurse

• She enjoyed hobbies. Craft artist

• She had a residence in 1985 in Blairsville, Union Co., GA.

• She had a residence in 1999 in Millegeville, , GA.

Mary married Dean Blizzard [2360] [MRIN: 1013]. They had three children: Tina Beth, Thelma Deane, and Shannon Marie.

Tina Beth Blizzard [2361] was born on 26 Apr 1962.

Tina married Homer Autry Thompson [2364] [MRIN: 1014]. Homer was born on 22 Jul 1957. They had one daughter: Ashley Beth.

Ashley Beth Thompson [2365] was born on 22 Feb 1987.

Thelma Deane Blizzard [2362] was born on 23 May 1963.

Thelma married William Owen Bass [2366] [MRIN: 1015]. William was born on 2 Aug 1962. They had two children: Chrystal Deanna and William Owen.

Chrystal Deanna Bass [2367] was born on 26 Mar 1986.

William Owen Bass III [2368] was born on 22 Nov 1987.

Shannon Marie Blizzard [2363] was born on 13 May 1966.

Shannon married Suggs [2369] [MRIN: 1016]. They had one son: Justin.

Justin Suggs [2370] was born about 1982.

Mary next married Clyde "Rocky" Ellison [2371] [MRIN: 1017]. They had one son: Clyde "Trae".

Marriage Notes: The way they met is that Mary Beth went to him to quit smoking.

Noted events in his life were:

• He was employed. Psychologist; chimney sweeper

Clyde "Trae" Ellison III [2372] was born on 24 Nov 1975.

Mary next married Alan Russell [2373] [MRIN: 1018].

Cheryl Jane Petty [2348] was born on 16 Oct 1950 in , Murray Co., GA.

Noted events in her life were:

• She was employed. Banking officer

Cheryl married Ray Keith Pounds [2374] [MRIN: 1019] on 27 Nov 1970 in , Baldwin Co, GA. Ray was born on 8 Dec 1948 in Millegeville, Baldwin Co., GA. They had one daughter: Amy Nichole.

Noted events in his life were:

• He was employed in 1978. Parole Officer

Amy Nichole Pounds [2375] was born on 25 Nov 1970.

Amy married Dean Allen Campbell [2376] [MRIN: 1020] on 8 Dec 1990. Dean was born on 14 Jan 1969 in Gainesville, , FL. They had one son: Keith.

Keith Campbell [2377] was born in Jan 2001.

Opal Ruby Petty (1913-1992). Opal was born in Murray County, Georgia, and moved with her family to Gillette, Wyoming, at about age 5. While in Wyoming she was just reaching the age of awareness, and kept a good recollections of the family's trials and tribulations during the hard times.

All her siblings started their own life and their own families. Opal stayed home and took care of her mother. She always worked. She didn't drive a car so they always rented within walking distance of a bus stop. They lived in various places: Varnell, Cohutta, Rossville, Kennesaw, and Marietta. When they lived in Marietta and Kennesaw she worked at a printing company in Atlanta.

Opal seemed to always be in good humor and talkative. She always got to know her neighbors well.

Baby sister Sarah and Opal

I think Opal smoked all her adult life. On her deathbed her doctor went to the gift shop at the hospital and bought her a pack of cigarette. She was dying anyway, so I think he thought one last pleasure would be fine.

She had one son.

She lived 79 years.

She is buried at Little River Methodist Church Cemetery near Woodstock, Georgia, in the cemetery her daughter-in-law is buried and one day her son will be buried in.

Cosmo Petty (1915-1915). Cosmo was twin to Osmo. He died as an infant.

Mother Viola Ridley Petty and Osmo

Osmo Calvert Petty (1915-1978). Osmo was twin to Cosmo, who died as an infant. He was born in Murray County, Georgia. To hear my mother tell it, she and Osmo was definitely on their father's bad list. He unjustified and unmerciful gave them terrible beatings all through their childhood. And what made him even madder, they would defend each other against him.

Osmo was responsible for my mother's middle name America. The Americans were at a patriotic-hyped at the highest because of World War I. According to Opal, jumping up and down Osmo said name her America. Which they did. Would a father that hated his son do the same?

Before Osmo went into the Navy he, his sister Opal, and his cousin Stanley Petty, son of Irvin, went to Detroit to work in one of the factories. According to Opal, Osmo's biggest past time was fighting in bars.

Cousins Stanley and Osmo Petty

Osmo went into the Navy during World War II. During his tour of duty he learned of pipe fitting.

When the war was over and he was released form active duty he moved in with Opal and his mother in Rossville, Georgia. He got a job a produce store near the base of Lookout Mountain, in Chattanooga, only a few miles away. We visited them one Christmas and I remember Osmo and Roy passing around a jug of eggnog. I suspected what it was and Osmo let me taste it, and yep, it was mixed with booze.

With his brass fittings skill he learned in the Navy he ended up working for a company in or near Terre Haute, Indiana.

Osmo drunk a lot of alcohol. I am not saying that is a bad thing. Compared to other drinkers I know, including myself, he was a heavy drinker. I remember one time he came to Marietta and took me out with him visiting his sisters. We never got pass the beer joint on Old Atlanta Road, also known as West Atlanta Street. He drank beer and carried on conversations for hours while I sat there and played with the booth's remote jukebox. When we arrived back home my mother was furious with him and they had another one of their fights. Osmo was known for coming to Marietta and getting his sisters and brother riled up, then leave and go back to Indiana, leaving his siblings having a heated fuss.

Osmo's brothers Roy, Leonard, and Wallace thought Osmo was the most intelligent of all the siblings. The sisters disagreed and Tom was never around to get his opinion. For what it is worth, I'll give my opinion: He may or may not have been the most intelligent one of them but I think the reason they thought that is because Osmo, usually under the influence of alcohol gave his opinions and beliefs in profound terms, as drinkers do a lot.

Osmo was found dead in his car with a bullet in his head. I heard the details but did not retain the physics and logistics to do remember the bottom line: It would have been impossible for him to shot himself with the gun that was in the car with him but the authorities ruled that he took his own life. One of the facts pending was that Osmo was to be a court witness against some motorcycle gang members for the killing someone. A court date was set for the trial.

Violet and Osmo

Osmo married Viola "Violet" Holt. They had seven children. He lived 72 years and was cremated.

Janie about 17

Ethel America "Janie" Petty (1918-1996). (AKO "Mama"). My mother was born in Gillette, Campbell County, Wyoming. I already told of her brother Osmo suggesting to the family the name America. She also got the name nickname "Janie" from her siblings. The original Jane, a neighbor's kid in Gillette was demanding and self-centered. Mama's siblings thought the same applied to her as well.

Mama, along with her siblings picked cotton near Cohutta, Georgia. They called their farm land "The Red Hills". She moved to Marietta to get a factory job. She worked for a hosiery mill in Marietta, at what would become Hole Proof Hosiery. Not long after her move she had a dream of her family's house burning down and in the dream her mother jumped out of the window with only the only belongings of a framed picture of Opal and the clothes on back. she warned her family of her dream and they scoffed it off. The dream came true.

Her sisters Opal and Sarah came to Marietta and got jobs also. They lived in an apartment on Lemon Street. What they did not know at the time they lived in Marietta oldest dwelling, the Root House, that was once owned by one of the original settlers of Marietta, a druggist with the last name Root. In recent times the hose has been moved a few blocks away on Marietta Parkway and is now a museum.

Janie married Edwin "Ed" Tyson Hunter, Sr (1911-1988), 27 February 1937, in Marietta. They had three children, two daughters and a son (me!).

She was known to stand her ground with whoever, big or small, regardless who they were. She had several official tangles in the Mayor of Marietta, who happened to be her brother-in-law, Dick Hunter.

Janie spent about the last eight years of her life with Parkinson's disease. She lived 77 years. She and Ed are buried at Kennesaw Mountain Memorial Cemetery.

William Leroy "Roy" Petty (1921-2000). Roy was also known as "Bill" to his comrades and "L-Rod" to his Army buddies. Roy was the only one of his siblings born in Appomattox, Virginia. After the family's short stay there they moved back to Murray County, Georgia, where Roy spent his formative years.

When he was awakened to be told his father had died during the night, he said, "Good!" and rolled over and went back to sleep.

He went to the University of Georgia. He left his college career to join the war effort. He enlisted in the Army and became a war hero by having his moment on D-Day at Normandy, France, by singularly killing many Germans. After the war, he returned to the University of Georgia and got his degree. During this postwar time he started a laundry in Dalton, Georgia. Afterwards, he was offered a job at Madison Square Garden as a children's sport coordinator. And from that he became head of the Heinz Foundation's Clear Pool Camp in Carmel, New York.

Roy married Dorothy Hulms and had two sons. They divorced and Roy got custody of the bosy.

When I was in the Navy stationed in Lakehurst, New Jersey, friends and I, about every six weeks or so visit Roy and his two sons Rodney and Billy in Carmel.

This was printed in the Dalton Daily Tribune, June 2012:

June 10, 2012

'Stories of former Cohutta mans heroics as a Ranger live on in books, memories

Jamie Jones jamiejones@daltoncitizen.com The Dalton Daily Citizen Sun Jun 10, 2012, 06:30 AM EDT

With healed legs once shattered in a parachute jump and a mouthful of false teeth from his football days, former Cohutta resident William Petty never wavered in his journey to become a U.S. Army Ranger.

Because luckily for Petty, his will was never broken.

As a 22-year-old member of the 2nd U.S. Ranger Battalion, Petty was part of the first wave of troops that stormed the beaches of Normandy and scaled the treacherous cliffs there in northern France on June 6, 1944.

That date would be known as D-Day.

On that day more than 150,000 Allied troops began Operation Neptune, part of the larger Operation Overlord. The military maneuvers were an attempt to regain control of the German-controlled country during World War II and defeat Adolf Hitler.

The invasion was bloody and costly.

Some 9,000 Allied soldiers were killed or wounded; however, almost 100,000 soldiers started to cross Europe and defeat the Nazis. More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft were involved in the invasion.

Petty survived the harrowing ordeal and became a war hero. He is credited with killing more than 30 Germans during D-Day. With the help of several Rangers, they leveled a huge concrete gun emplacement at Pointe du Hoc that was aimed at the English Channel. By the time his military career was over, Petty had earned a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts.

Petty passed away at age 78 on March 21, 2000, in Carmel, N.Y. His stories of bravery live on. He is featured heavily in Ronald L. Lane's "Rudder's Rangers" and receives several pages in Douglas Brinkley's "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc" and Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day."

Petty's stories were also handed down to his family.

"I remember growing up you used to hear the stories over and over from all of his buddies," his son, Bill Petty, said. "The guys that did survive, they were very tight knit. We used to have reunions and we'd travel across the country and we would always be staying at some Ranger's house somewhere. You always heard the stories. As a kid you're like, 'Oh not again.' Now as an adult, with him not being here, you have a greater appreciation for all of it."

Petty was born in Appomattox, Va., on May 22, 1921. His family, which included 13 children, moved to Cohutta when he was a child and operated a cotton farm. Petty attended the University of Georgia, but his studies were cut short after he joined the Army.

Petty almost never made it to Normandy. In fact, he barely became a part of the Rangers.

After that first parachute jump gone awry, Petty decided he wanted to become a part of the all-volunteer force that often operated behind enemy lines.

In the early 1940s, he went to Camp Forrest in Tullahoma, Tenn., which was one of the U.S. Army's largest training bases during World War II. There he began the process to become a Ranger. The parachute accident left Petty with a pronounced limp.

"He had to be a fast talker because he was still walking like a duck when he got there," recalled Monroe Reed, a lifelong Cohutta resident and Petty's childhood friend. "His legs had healed enough so he could put weight on them."

After taking the physical, the doctor declined to allow Petty into the group. Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, the commanding officer of the Army's 2nd Ranger Battalion, agreed with the doctor's assessment.

The doctor also noted another problem.

Petty had none of his original teeth. They were all knocked while playing football. He had false teeth.

"The officer that was interviewing him for enlistment said, 'Well, you can probably get where you can walk and run pretty good but you ain't got a tooth in your head that you can use," Reed said.

Petty persevered. He requested a more intense medical examination. Eventually, he met with Rudder.

"The very fact that even after fracturing both legs he still wanted to be a Ranger showed true heart," Brinkley wrote in "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc." "Petty insisted to Rudder that it was unfair to disqualify him because of his dental malady."

Rudder admired Petty's tenacity, his grit.

Petty then uttered his now famous line about the Germans.

"Hell, sir! I don't want to eat'em. I want to fight'em."

The lieutenant colonel flashed a smiled then signed a form, succinctly telling Petty, "You're in."

At Normandy, the Rangers went into northern France about one hour ahead of the other troops. They scaled 100-foot cliffs under the cover of darkness to take out the German 15.5 cm Kanone 418(f) coastal defense guns. The guns were thought to be near the landing areas on the beach, but the Germans had placed the guns farther back. The Rangers were successful in destroying the emplacements. However, about 60 percent of the 200-member Ranger squad perished.

After the service, Petty went back to UGA. He eventually returned to Dalton for a short time and opened a laundry. The business failed and Petty moved to New York, where he earned a master's degree from New York University.

For years he was the director of Clear Pool Boys Camp, which served troubled children from New York City.

"From my blog, I still get people that write me every once in a while about what a big difference he made in their lives," said Eddie Hunter, Petty's nephew.

Reminiscing on his father's military service, Bill Petty recalled a poignant moment with his children.

"I remember walking through a library with my kids and I saw the book," he said. "I pulled it out and said, 'Hey, do you want to see something cool?' And I flipped it to the back and there was William 'L-Rod' Petty."

There for future generations to read about.

Roy lived 78 years. He was cremated.

Leonard Francis Petty(1924-2001). Leonard was born in Murray County, Georgia. He picked cotton as a child. During World War II he enlisted in the Navy and learned to be an optician. He was an optician all his working life.

He married Jeannette Phillips (1925-2004) of Detroit and they had four children, three daughters, and a son.

They lived near his mother and Opal when they lived in Rossville, Georgia. Later when his mother and Opal moved to Marietta, they did too.

I remember my father loved to play practical jokes on Jeannette. One time he called her and said he was with Southern Bell Telephone Company and he was going to blow all the dust out of their telephone, would she please go and tie a paper sack to the phone's ear piece and she did.

Leonard had an optician office in with Doctor Cutherson in downtown Marietta and later his own office PETTY OPTICIANS. Which is probably technically incorrect because there was only one optician: Leonard.

His youngest daughter LaVern got him interested in raising and boarding horses in his later years.

They lived on the main street in Powder Springs, next door to the funeral home. One night they were disturbed when an out of state funeral home brought a body into their kitchen by mistake.

Leonard loved to fish. I also learned at his funeral he loved to meet with old friends and eat breakfast every morning. To them, his nickname was "Doc".

He lived 77 years. He and Jeannette are buried in Powder Springs Memorial Cemetery, Powder Springs,
Georgia.

Sarah Petty (1927-1999). Sarah was born in Murray County. She was about seven years old when her father died. I don't know how much she picked because by the time she was old enough to work the fields all the children were moving away which meant they were getting out of the business of picking cotton.

Sarah moved to Marietta and lived with her two single sisters.

.Sarah married John William "Bill" McLemore. Bill was the parts manager at Anderson Chevrolet and he loved to umpire Little League games. They had two daughters.

Sarah had an eye for antiques, decorations, and real estate. Also she had the drive to make money. One time she made sandwiches and pies to sell to Kennestone Hospital gift shop, another time she rented their spare bedroom to a boarder. One time she owned her own antique store on Atlanta Street, around the corner form the Square and another time she owned her owned carpet company on Austell Road.. Her house was always decorated to magazine cover perfection and traded up in houses a number of times. She worked as a salesperson in Riches furniture and carpets, and salesperson with Furniture Crafts. She didn't let the grass grow under her feet.

Bill was a diabetic and his condition became worse and worse, and in his last years was wheelchair bound.