Mrs. Vella Grace Fletcher Barrett, 82, of Ocilla, Georgia, passed away peacefully Saturday, January 24, 2009 at the home of her daughter in Douglasville, Georgia.
Funeral services will be held 1 P.M., Friday, January 30, 2009 at the Ocilla Baptist Church with the Rev. Gerald Purvis and Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor officiating. Interment will follow in the Douglas City Cemetery. Nephews will serve as pallbearers. The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 Thursday evening at the funeral home in Ocilla.
Mrs. Barrett was born December 29, 1926 in Coffee County to the late Dewey Kelly and Linnie Pearl Jowers Fletcher. A graduate of Douglas High School, she earned a bachelors degree in education from the Georgia College for Women in Milledgeville. She held a lifetime teaching certificate, and for 34 years was an elementary and middle school teacher in both Irwin and Ben Hill counties before retiring in 1986. Mrs. Barrett served as president of the Irwin County Garden Club and was a member of the Ocilla First Baptist Church. She loved to cook for family and friends and was best known for her Thanksgiving dressing, which she prepared in bulk to send to family members. Mrs. Barrett was devoted to her grandchildren, spending many weeks each year enjoying their school events and performances. Her strong belief in the value of education fueled her desire to live long enough to see her first grandchild graduate from high school in 2008.
Mrs. Barrett is survived by her daughter, Nancy Barrett Tallant and son-in-law, Keith Tallant of Douglasville; grandchildren, Spencer A. Rich, Amelia E. Tallant and Barrett N. Tallant all of Douglasville; sister and brother-in-law, Tommie Lee and Fred Taylor of Albany; brothers and sisters-in-law, Norman and Marvelyne Fletcher of Douglas and Joe and Cornelia Fletcher of Atlanta; several in–laws, nieces and nephews including former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor of Albany and special friend and caretaker, Debra Searcy of Fitzgerald also survive. Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 41 years, Fred M. Barrett who passed away in 1989 and two sisters, Cleo Lewis and Carolyn Brantley.
Memorials may be sent to St. Julian’s Episcopal Church, 5400 Stewart Mill Rd., Douglasville, GA 30135.