Local notables who died in 2015

Dec. 30--In ways as varied as their names, these folks with Chattahoochee Valley connections touched our lives before they departed in 2015:

John Williams Jr. Jan. 8: He was principal of the now-closed Cusseta High School before a fire destroyed it in 1969. After working at Stewart County High School, he was assistant principal at Rothschild Middle School before retiring. He was 77 when he died in Columbus Hospice.

James David Lester III, Jan. 14: After founding Portable Systems Technology, the provider of the SmartApp solution for the insurance industry, he sold it to Aflac and became its chief information officer (2000-05). He chaired the Georgia Technology Authority (2001-07) and served on Georgia Tech's College of Computing Board of Advisors. He died from cancer at 70.

William "Bill" Edwin Reitz, Jan. 17: A member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit Hall of Fame, he was the gunsmith for several Army teams in the 1950s and 1960s and opened the Accuracy Gun Shop in Columbus. He died at 90 in St. Francis Hospital after a brief illness.

Warner Franklin "Frankie" Fussell Jr., Jan. 20: The retired Columbus Fire and EMS Department battalion chief, who served for 36 years, was honored in the Fire Engineers Magazine with a cover story about rescuing a child from a burning home. He died at at 76 in his residence.

Grace Stephens Riley, Jan. 26: The former Harris County PTA president was a correspondent for the Ledger-Enquirer and edited the Harris County Journal in the 1960s. She died at 82 in an Athens nursing home.

James Blanchard Huff Jr., Jan. 31: The former senior investment officer for Columbus Bank and Trust helped develop the Girls Club of Columbus and served on the Historic Columbus Foundation board. He died at 73 in his residence.

Bernard Lee Ashley, Feb. 5: The Georgia District 8 Little League administrator for the past 17 years died at 74 from a heart attack. While he devoted about 100 hours per week to the district during the season, he built a reputation for always treating folks fairly and trying to do what was best for the children.

James Lowe Jr., Feb. 18: The Phenix City native was president of Bishop State Community College in Mobile when he died at 67 after he fell face first while getting out of his truck. Among six siblings, he was the brother of Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe and College Football Hall of Famer Woodrow Lowe.

Sara McDuffie Hardaway, Feb. 19: The Historic Columbus Foundation's Honored Lady of 1997, she served on the board of directors for the Columbus Museum, the Springer Opera House and the Junior League of Columbus, as well as Trinity and Brookstone schools. She helped establish the Midland Pony Club. She died at 89 in her home.

Retired U.S. Army Maj. Wilbur Colley Baggett, Feb. 20: His decorated active service (1940-65) included roles as communications operator in World War II and combat pilot in the Korean War. He supported the Army Missile Program at Red Stone Arsenal, Ala., by flying notable personnel such as Gen. Werner Von Braun and space monkeys Baker and Able. He was the personal pilot for commanding generals in the European Theater of Operations and commanding general John Heintges at Fort Benning. In his civilian career, he worked for 20 years as a flight control instructor at Lawson Army Airfield. He died at 93 in his home.

Retired U.S. Army Master Sgt. Sam L. Garrett, Feb. 20: After 27 years of decorated service, including World War II and the Korean War, he retired from the Army in 1971, then became a leader among Masons. He was a Grand Master of the Grand Council of Alabama, Grand High Priest of Alabama and Grand Royal Arch of Alabama, as well as the Grand Commander of the York Rite Bodies of Masonry in Columbus. He established the first Rainbow Grand Assembly in Germany and received the Grand Cross of Color from the International Grand Worthy Advisor. He died at 88.

Gary W. Hudgins, Feb. 22: After 30 years of service in local law enforcement, he retired as deputy warden of the Muscogee County Prison. Even at the age of 5, he was noticed for excellence as the Columbus Boys Club named him the 1961 Boy of the Year. He died at 70 in St. Francis Hospital.

John Wingfield Marshall III, Feb. 22: The three-year letterman in basketball and baseball at the University of Georgia, including the 1953 SEC baseball championship, was president of EJ Knight Scrap Material Company for 25 years. As a Rotarian, he received the Paul Harris and Will Watt Fellow awards. He died in his home at 84.

Matilda Milner Smith, Feb. 25: She was manager of the former W.C. Bradley Memorial Library, then orchestrated the move of its collection to the Columbus Public Library in time for the 2005 opening before retiring a year later. She died at 68.

Jesse Lee Ellison, Feb. 26: Before he became the first black mayor of Shiloh in 2008, he served as a city councilman for 19 years. He retired after 34 years working for the Harris County Board of Education as transportation supervisor. He died in his home at 67.

Amos J. Johnson, Feb. 26: After 20 years of honorable U.S. Army service, including World War II and the wars in Korea and Vietnam, he logged more than 4 million accident-free miles as a truck driver. He was president of the Phenix City Shrine Club in 2012 and provided transportation to Shriners Hospitals for Children as a member of the Alcazar Road Runners Unit. He died at 87.

Theodore "Ted" Arno II, March 7: The Class of 1948 student manager of the Georgia Tech football team was inducted into the university's athletics hall of fame in 1982 and served on its alumni board. He served as president of the Miss Georgia Pageant. He worked as president of Arenowitch Inc., a family-owned wholesale dry goods company until the business closed in the 1980s. Then he worked as an insurance agent until he retired. And nobody sold more Deli Day tickets for Temple Israel's community service projects before he died at 88 in Atlanta Hospice.

Otis Blue Burnham, March 8: Before he retired as vice chairman of Burham Service Corp., the successor to Burnham Van Service, he was president of the local, state and national moving associations and helped form the National Institute of Certified Moving Consultants. As a lifelong member of Holy Family Catholic Church, he received the Brotherhood Award from the National Conference of Christian and Jews in 1978. He cofounded the East Columbus Boys Club, was president of the Columbus Metropolitan YMCA and Downtown Rotary Club (1985), and served as 1982 campaign chairman for the United Way. He chaired the Columbus Technical College Foundation and served on boards for Brookstone School, Columbus State University Foundation, Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley, Pastoral Institute and RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, where he became interim executive director in 2005. He was cochairman of the St. Francis Hospital Foundation's capital funds campaign. In 2010, he was selected as King of the Columbus Mardi Gras Ball. He was chairman of the Sun Trust Bank of West Georgia's audit committee for 15 years and continued to serve as a director emeritus for the bank and as a senior trustee for CSU. He was 85 when he died in St. Francis Hospital.

Kathleen Robinette Overby, March 8: She retired after 40 years as executive secretary for the Gas Light Company of Columbus. She was past state president of the National Secretary Association and former secretary for the Columbus Baptist Association. She died in St. Francis Hospital at 92.

Donald William Van Doorn, March 8: Since 1949, he was steadily promoted in Columbus at Lummus Corp., the world's leading supplier of machinery and parts for the cotton ginning industry, until he became vice president for engineering and chief technical officer with a seat on the board of directors. He received 68 patents for his device inventions and was honored with awards from the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers and the National Cotton Ginners Association. In 1998, Lummus moved to Savannah, where he died at 93 in St. Joseph's Hospital.

Ryland Duke Miller, March 9: While attending Northwestern University, where he was the 1947 senior class president, he was the founding national chairman of the College Council of the United Nations, which became the Model United Nations program. As a Young Republican, he chaired Dwight Eisenhower's first presidential campaign rally in 1951. After developing a successful business with several insurance companies in the Midwest, Aflac brought him to Columbus in the late 1970s as vice president of sales. He was inducted into the Aflac Hall of Fame in 2006. Through the R. Duke Miller Charitable Family Foundation, he donated to arts, educational and health organizations. He held volunteer leadership positions with the local chapter of the American Cancer Society, Westville 1850 Village, Columbus International Relations Commission, First Presbyterian Church of Columbus, National Civil War Naval Museum, Kiwanis Club of Columbus, Girls Inc. of Columbus, Children's Tree House, Columbus Hospice and the Patrons of Music Society Steering Committee for the Columbus State University Schwob School of Music. He was 89 when he died after a long illness.

Ette Ndem, March 21: The former Calvary Christian basketball star died at 27 after a nine-year battle with cancer. He led the Knights to the 2006 Georgia Independent School Association championship game, thrilling fans with dunks despite being only 6-foot-1. Columbus State University signed him, but he was diagnosed with lymphoma before his freshman season and never played for the Cougars.

James Martin Brewbaker, March 25: Affectionately called "Dr. B" by his students, he helped mold the careers of hundreds of local English teachers as a professor in the College of Education and Health Professions for 44 years at CSU before dying from cardiac arrest at 75. He also edited Innovation, the college's magazine.

Reginald Pugh, March 26: The president of the Urban League of Columbus from 2000-12 died from an apparent cardiac event. He was 61. He lost 2008 and 2012 races for the District 15 seat in the Georgia Senate to incumbent Ed Harbison. "The city is going to miss his ability to network people and his can-do attitude, no matter what," said Columbus Councilor Mimi Woodson.

Sarah Cook Morris, March 29: She was a two-term president of the Exchangette Club of Columbus and was honored as the 1992-93 Exchangette of the Year. She retired in 1991 as a legal assistant for E. Lowry Reid at the Columbus law firm Page, Scrantom, Sprouse, Tucker & Ford. She died at 92.

William Tyrone "Toot Toot" Crawford, April 2: This civil rights leader was among the founders of the Afro-American Police League after he joined the Columbus Police Department. He was instrumental in the sit-in to integrate the local library system, movie theaters and public swimming pools. He later became a counselor for the Columbus Urban League He died at 71.

The Rev. Lillie P. Gross, April 3: Before retiring as a supply clerk at Fort Benning in 1979, she established the first African-American chapter of the American Business Women's Association in Columbus, entitled Sojourner. In the 1990s, she started for the association a retirement chapter, entitled The Elite Ladies. She died at 72 in Gentiva Hospice.

Hazel Miller Judah, April 3: A diving accident at 17 in 1962 defined her life instead of debilitating it. After graduating from Jordan Vocational High School and Columbus College, she worked for the Columbus Consolidated Government as director of the Mayor's Committee for the Handicapped, where she established the Dial-A-Ride program. She taught independent living skills at Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. No wonder, in 1984, she was named the first Ms. Wheelchair Georgia and finished as runner-up for Ms. Wheelchair America. She died in her home at 69.

Alice Watson Fraser, April 4: She was president of the Columbus Museum Guild Gardeners, where she helped restore the Olmsted Gardens. She was the first female trustee at St. Paul United Methodist Church of Columbus and served as president of United Methodist Women. She was 89 when she died at Spring Harbor.

Guy Karn Willison, April 4: He survived losing 100 pounds, frozen feet and forced marches as a prisoner in a German camp during World War II, became owner and secretary/treasurer of the Muscogee Mortgage Company and owner and manager of DixieBuilt Corp., and was a past president of the Kiwanis Club of South Columbus. He died at 98.

Dr. Larry Eugene Brightwell, April 9: After serving as a major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during the Vietnam War, he became past chairman of the surgery department and past medical staff secretary at The Medical Center. He was past president of the Georgia Composite State Board of Medical Examiners and the Muscogee County Medical Society. He was 77 when he died in St. Francis Hospital.

James Wright Jr., April 9: Better known as Ed Moe, or EggMo, he pulled the chains on the sidelines of local high school football games, and he pushed sports talk show host Bobby Z with his "crazy" yet knowledgeable calls into the Pressbox on 95.7 FM. He died at 51 after a car hit him while he was riding his bike.

Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Virgil Riley Greene, April 14: After 28 decorated years in the U.S. Army, including three tours in Vietnam, he was the military liaison between Phenix City and Fort Benning. At Lawson Army Airfield, for three straight years, he attended every outgoing and returning Freedom Flight, offering every soldier a handshake and an encouraging word. He died at 85 after a long illness.

James C. Richardson, April 29: Although the Gerontology Research Group, the official keepers of human longevity, never confirmed it, those who knew him best claim he was 111 years old when he died at Parkwood Health Care in Phenix City. And that would have made him the oldest man in America at the time.

Martin Christopher Thiele, April 30: Before he died at 18 after a four-year battle with a rare cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, he inspired the Scott's Ride for Miracles by joining the motorcyclists for part of their 2014 cross-country trip that raises money for The Children's Miracle Network. He also inspired other children fighting cancer with his zest for life. Jenn Woods, a nurse practitioner at the Oncology and Hematology Center of Columbus, said, "There were so many kids he was able to touch."

William Calmese Buck, May 7: An iceman by trade but a warm personality, he was president of Buck Ice & Coal Co., past president of the Georgia Ice Manufacturers Association and past secretary-treasurer and Hall of Fame member of the Southern Ice Exchange. He was past president of the Columbus Jaycees, and he was the longest active member of the Rotary Club 200 when he died at 90 in his home.

Robert "Pete" Sanders Sr., May 14: The first football coach and athletics director at Carver High School died at 84 after a lengthy illness. Starting in 1961, he led the program for 15 seasons. Wallace Davis was one of Sanders' physical education students before coaching under him. "He was one of my best teachers," Davis said. "He didn't just roll the ball out there. He gave tests. He taught the science of the sports. He was a good educator, a good person."

Franklin Douglass, June 23: A principal of Muscogee County elementary, junior high and high schools, including Spencer from 1976-88, he was the district's student services director for two years before retiring and becoming chairman of the Columbus Housing Authority. He died at 78. Authority executive director Len Williams said, "He was so calm. He could see the other side of an issue with clarity. And he knew how to navigate and mediate two parts of an issue."

James Kyle Spencer, July 12: Banker, investor, historian, philanthropist and descendant of city founders, he was an integral part of Columbus. He died at 88 in his home. His contributions to CSU included financing the Spencer House in Oxford, England, where CSU students study abroad, and donating historic maps to the CSU archives. He co-founded Trees Columbus and donated the building that became the Spencer Environmental Center. He served as president of the Historic Columbus Foundation.

Walter Herbert Greene, July 13: Respected as a player and beloved as a coach, Herbert Greene left a sparkling legacy beyond the 481 victories he notched in the 25 years he led the CSU men's basketball team. He died from a heart attack at 71. Greene's Cougars qualified for nine NCAA Division II tournaments and twice reached the Sweet 16. He also helped establish the Peach Belt Conference and won four regular-season league championships. During his 23 years as CSU athletics director, the department's teams collected 48 conference crowns and five national championships. After leaving his basketball position in 2006 and retiring from CSU in 2008, he became executive director of the Columbus Sports Council, which generated more than $100 million in estimated economic impact during his tenure by hosting hundreds of competitions. So he is remembered for being more than the Eufaula High guard who never saw a shot he didn't like or the assistant coach who recruited the "Round Mound of Rebound," All-American Charles Barkley, to Auburn University before he became an NBA star.

James Allen McMullen Sr., July 26: His name was synonymous with helping local families after a loved one died. After battling cancer for three years, it was his turn at 75 to be the focus of a funeral. But for 51 years in the profession, including the past 28 at McMullen Funeral Home, he was there to serve others. He also was integral to the Columbus Lions Club, named Lion of the Year in 1973 and a district governor in 1976. He was chairman of the Georgia Sight Conservation Committee, Georgia Lions Lighthouse for the Blind Foundation. He also organized the club's annual educational trip to Washington for students in grades 5-6, totaling more than 40,000 of them in 36 years.

William "Bill" L. Bowick Jr., July 30: His voice was carried on Columbus airwaves for nearly 35 years, starting in 1955 at WGBA, where his "Coffee with Bill" show featured his alter ego, Philup Space, who gave guests a hard time along with hearty laughs. He was vice president of WRBL radio and program director at WGBA and WVOC. He helped create WMGP, Magic 98.1. He was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2008. He was 91 when he died at St. Francis Hospital.

Dorothy "Dot" W. McClure, July 30: Considered the grande dame of local theater, she helped save the Springer Opera House from demolition in 1964. Her support of the arts was so appreciated, the Springer named its theater academy after her, as well as the complex's smaller theater, affectionately known as The Dot. Retired academy director Ron Anderson said, "Her love and spirit will always be at the Springer."

Morton Allen Harris, Aug. 3: A renowned attorney with Hatcher, Stubbs, Land, Hollis & Rothschild, he was president of the Columbus High School Alumni Association and started an endowment to help disadvantaged students as well as a scholarship at CSU. He was president of the Columbus Jaycees (1965-66), Kiwanis Club of Greater Columbus (1968) and the Small Business Council of America (1980-86) and a past member of the grand-jury appointed Muscogee County School Board. He died at 81 from complications after a heart valve repair. Former Columbus Mayor Bob Poydasheff called him "a wonderful human being a man of integrity."

Betty Tisdale, Aug. 19: Known as the "Angel of Saigon," she helped airlift 219 orphans from Vietnam to Fort Benning before the communists captured the capital in 1975. A month later, all of the children were adopted. She continued to aid other at-risk children by establishing the nonprofit organization HALO, (Helping and Loving Orphans). She and her Army doctor husband lived in Columbus, but she died in her Seattle home at 92.

Clint Claybrook, Aug. 31: L-E colleague Chuck Williams called him "crusty as two-week-old bread." Maybe it was because this ex-Marine was assigned to cover primarily the Army beat in the 1980s and 1990s. But he did the newspaper and its readers a service when he embedded with the troops and filed reports from Iraq and Somalia. He was 77 when he died from lung cancer in Birmingham.

Dr. Agatha Thrash, Sept. 3: She and her late husband, Dr. Calvin Thrash, founded the Uchee Pines Natural Health and Lifestyle Center, which brought visitors to Seale, Ala., from around the world, along with the Country Life Natural Food Store and Vegetarian Restaurant in Columbus. Before launching the ministries through the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the 1970s, she was chief pathologist at St. Francis Hospital. They wrote 15 books on natural healing and alternative medicine. She was 84 when she died at home.

Edwin Spencer Oliver, Sept. 13: He coached the Harris County High School softball team to a state championship in 2000. Less than three weeks after he died from cancer at 71, the school named its softball field after him. He also was an assistant baseball coach under Bobby Howard at Columbus High, where he helped win five state titles in the 1990s. Howard likened him to Tony LaRussa and Andy Griffith and said, "He was always able to discern what was going on with the players. He always had warm, kind words for them."

Jaimie DeLoach, Sept. 27: The former assistant city attorney worked in the city attorney's office for about 10 years before becoming counsel for CSU in 2011. She died at 55 after an extended illness. CSU Provost Tom Hackett called her "a terrific lawyer" and a "terrific person." City Attorney Clifton Fay said she was "an invaluable member of our legal team."

James Lowe Sr., Oct. 9: The son of a Russell County sharecropper, he had a third-grade education but instilled the values of hard work and scholarship in his six children and watched them accomplish greatness not available to him. He died at 91 after a lengthy battle with cancer. "He never got a formal education, but he was an educated man," said his son Eddie, the mayor of Phenix City.

Suzanne Powell Huffman, Oct. 10: The Columbus police officer who loved the outdoors and two weeks earlier had passed the exam to become a whitewater guide fell to her death while rappelling on Pigeon Mountain in north Georgia. She was 40 and the mother of five boys. "She was definitely an up-and-coming person in the department," said Columbus Police Chief Ricky Boren, "and she's going to be greatly missed."

Harold "Lefty" Encarnacion, Oct. 13: Before a diseased liver beat him at 62, Lefty was a champion for the Hispanic community. He was co-owner of Millie's International Market, which became a hub of activity and information for Spanish speakers. He also co-founded the annual Tri-Cities Latino Festival and managed the city's only local Hispanic radio station, UNIDOS 107.7 FM, which closed in 2014.

Charles Frederick Hurston, Nov. 3: One of only two men from the Bi-City area to have won a Super Bowl ring. The defensive end helped the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-7 in Super Bowl IV. He is a member of the first class in the Jordan High Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 2010. As a three-year letterman at Auburn (1962-64), he played offensive tackle and defensive end. Following six seasons with Kansas City and one with Buffalo, he worked for 36 years at the Haggar Company, retiring as vice president of sales. He died after a long battle with cancer at 72.

Ala. State Rep. Lesley Vance, Nov. 3: A Democrat who turned Republican, he was first elected in 1994 to the district that includes parts of Lee and Russell counties. With two years of service on the Russell County Commission and 27 years as coroner, he held public office for five decades. When he died at 76 after an extended illness, he was chairman of the Alabama House Finance Committee. He also served the community in the funeral industry for 58 years, mostly through Vance-Memorial Chapel and Vance-Brooks Funeral Home.

Retired Master Sgt. Vincent Melillo, Dec. 24: A member of the Georgia Military and U.S. Army Ranger halls of fame, he was the state's last original member of Merrill's Marauders, the first U.S. troops to fight the Japanese on land in Asia. The 3,000 men of the 5307th Composite Unit Provisional under Gen. Frank Merrill marched nearly 1,000 miles, the farthest of any American fighting unit during World War II, and captured an airstrip in Burma to open a supply line. He was 97 when he died from a heart attack on Christmas Eve.

Mark Rice, 706-576-6272. Follow him on Twitter @MarkRiceLE.

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