Earnest F. Rountree, 80, of Irwin County, Georgia, died Tuesday, February 28, 2017, at Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Saturday, March 4, 2017, at The Paulk Funeral Home Chapel in Fitzgerald with the Rev. Sammy Smith, the Rev. Joey Whitley, and the Rev. George Carroll Paulk officiating. Interment will follow in Riverbend Cemetery, Irwin County. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mr. Rountree was born March 1, 1936, in Dublin, Georgia, to the late Emmitt & Ruby Lee Morgan Rountree. He lived in Irwin County and Ben Hill County most of his life and was a former resident of Tampa, Florida. He was a mechanic and owned and operated his own business, Earnest’s Auto Service, until he retired. Mr. Rountree cared about everyone he met and always thought about others. He was a member of Mystic Baptist Church.
He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Annette Tomberlin Rountree; children: Michael Rountree of Florida, Debra & Steven Connell of Nashville, Bobbie Jean Tucker of Fitzgerald, Jennifer Gay of Loganville and Judy & Aaron Roberts of Lakewood, Colorado; 11 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; siblings: Julius & Glenda Rountree of Zephyrhills, Florida, Cathene Padgett of Fitzgerald, Ronnie & Joy Rountree of Waycross, Anne & Robert Roberts of Dexter, and Jean Smith of Eastman. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by four brothers: Roger Rountree, James Rountree, Walter Rountree and Ralph Rountree and one sister: Annette Rountree.