Elaine Pool Tharp, 96, of Fitzgerald, died Friday, May 29, 2015, at Southern Care in Tifton.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Sunday, May 31, 2015, at First Baptist Church with the Rev. Dr. Michael Ruffin officiating. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6-8 Saturday evening at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mrs. Tharp was born July 2, 1918, in Buckville, Arkansas, to the late William Freeman & Emma Lola Mayberry Pool. She was valedictorian of her high school class and earned her BS in Home Economics from Peabody College. She attended South Georgia College and earned her Masters degree from Valdosta State, writing her thesis on the effect of a white teacher on the black dialect. This topic was poignant given the fact that Mrs. Tharp was one of the first white educators to teach at Monitor High School during integration. She also taught English at Fitzgerald Junior High School. She was a member of the Ben Hill-Irwin Retired Educators, was an avid bridge player, and taught piano in her home. She was an active member of First Baptist Church, the former Bethany Sunday school class, the Genesis Fellowship Sunday school class and the Young-at-Heart. She and her late husband taught high school training union when they moved to Fitzgerald in the late 1950s.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Bobby & Vickie Tharp of Fitzgerald, David & Carol Tharp of Tallahassee, Florida, and Becky & Ed Hill and Richard Tharp, all of Fitzgerald; her grandchildren and their spouses: Amy & Todd Taylor of Fitzgerald, Freeman & Laura Tharp of Douglas, Rick & Marcy Collins and Gene Collins, all of Tallahassee, Florida; Holly & Luke Ishee of Augusta, Edward & Brandi Hill of Abbeville, Katie & Josh Harrison of Gulfport, Mississippi, and Amanda Arnold of Perry; 11 great-grandchildren; and five nieces and nephews including a special niece, Cheri Barnes. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband Robert Moore Tharp, Jr., and a sister, Billie Sue Adkinson.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 367, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.