Albert Perry Heatherly, 86, formerly of Manchester, Georgia, died Tuesday, August 11, 2015 at his residence in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 15, 2015, at 4 PM at New Bethel Church in Fitzgerald, with the Rev. Larry Bowen officiating. Interment will follow in the New Bethel Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the Paulk Funeral Home in Fitzgerald, Friday evening, from 6 to 8. Pallbearers will be Randy Russ, Ricky Hageman, Steve Sumner, Randall Smith, Tim Lott, and Phillip Tyson. Mrs. Janice Young will provide the music on the organ during the funeral service and Randall Smith will play the harmonica at the graveside.
Mr. Heatherly was born on May 1, 1929, in Asheville, North Carolina, a son of the late Perry and Margie Hawkins Heatherly. He was employed with Milliken Mills in Manchester, Georgia, for several years and retired from the Georgia Department of Transportation in Thomaston, Georgia. Prior to moving to Manchester in 1959, he was employed with Dan River Corporation in Rome, Georgia. He was a member of Macedonia Baptist Church in Manchester. Mr. Heatherly was an outdoorsman and enjoyed fishing and growing his vegetable garden. He also enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren and especially his great-grandchildren.
Survivors include his wife of 63 years: Joy Sunrich Heatherly; one son: Mike Heatherly and his wife Betty Ann of Fitzgerald; one brother: Donald Heatherly; one sister: Wilma Jones, both of Asheville, North Carolina; two grandchildren: Brad Hart and his wife Kathryn and Lorie Heatherly; three great-grandchildren: Cole Hart, Carmen Hart and Lilli Carter, all of Fitzgerald. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by three sisters: Lula King, Rae Carroll and Maude Sanford.