Herbert Womack, 87, of Chula passed away, Thursday, March 16, 2017. His funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Sunday, March 19, 2017 in the Memorial Chapel of First Baptist Church of Tifton with Dr. Wayne Roe and the Rev. Paul Thomas officiating. Mr. Womack will be laid to rest at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Tifton. The family will receive friends Sunday, March 19, 2017 from 2:00 p.m. until the hour of the service in the Memorial Chapel of First Baptist Church of Tifton. Mr. Womack touched many lives with his kind and gentle demeanor. He was a family man, whose lasting gift was his Christian faith that he imparted to his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Jeffrey Sistrunk, Josh Lamb, Justin Atwell, Carroll Applewhite, John Baldwin, Bill Johnson and Gene Seigler will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be the Deacons of First Baptist Church of Tifton.
Born May 25, 1929 in Mantee, Mississippi, Mr. Womack was the son of the late James Alexander and Zada Kolb Womack. He was raised on a family farm that produced some of the first documented one-bale cotton yields in Mississippi. He was also preceded in death by seven brothers and one sister. Mr. Womack attended East Central Junior College and The University of Mississippi before serving in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953. He then continued his education at The Mississippi State University where he earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in entomology.
While he was a student at Mississippi State, Mr. Womack met his future wife Sara Fulton and they married in February of 1957. They moved to Tifton, where Mr. Womack was a research entomologist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service. He later joined the faculty of The University of Georgia as an extension entomologist and served in that capacity until his retirement in 1989, at which time he was named Associate Professor Emeritus. During his career, Mr. Womack served the Georgia agricultural community with distinction by specializing in the management of insect pests of peanut, cotton, tobacco, and stored commodities. He was one of the first entomologists in the Southeastern U.S. to organize comprehensive integrated pest management schools. His stellar professional reputation was demonstrated by his invited testimony to the U.S. Congress on pesticide issues of critical importance to Georgia agriculture. Deeply respected by his colleagues, he served as president of the Georgia Entomological Society in 1985. Mr. Womack received the Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of County Agricultural Agents in 1984 and the Distinguished Service Award of the Southeastern branch of the Entomological Society of America in 1981. His impact on peanut growers was acknowledged by the Georgia Peanut Commission when they awarded him the Georgia Peanut Distinguished Service Award in 1985 and the Georgia Peanut Research and Education Award in 1986.
Mr. Womack was an avid outdoorsman and often participated in group hunting and fishing excursions with friends and co-workers. He was a long-time member and former president of the Herb Bonner Hunt Club, an organization whose members are agricultural professionals. He was also a member of Ferry Lake Club in rural Tift County. After his retirement, he served as a volunteer at the Georgia Agrirama for 20 years.
Mr. Womack was a dedicated member of First Baptist Church of Tifton for 60 years. He served in numerous capacities, including deacon, and was elected as a Lifetime Deacon in 2008. His leadership was marked by wisdom, patience, compassion, and gentleness, all of which closely reflected the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. Mr. Womack contributed many years of service as a member of the food service team with Georgia Baptist Disaster Relief. He was deployed to Manhattan in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks and to Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He provided food, comfort, and spiritual guidance to those affected by these tragic events.
Mr. Womack is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sara Fulton Womack; three daughters and sons-in-law, Debra Womack Sistrunk (Callen) of Placentia, California; June Womack Johnson (Carroll) of Tifton; and Mona Womack Mathews (Lee) of Tifton. Grandchildren include Daniel Callen Sistrunk (Marion) of Orange, California; Jeffrey Patrick Sistrunk of Placentia, California; Anna Murry Johnson and Sara Carroll Johnson of Athens; and Joshua Rowland Lamb and Leah Lamb Atwell (Justin) of Tallahassee, Florida. He is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Ethan Lamb and Harper Sistrunk.
The family would like to thank Katrina Hurley, his nurse, for her kindness in caring for him.
Memorial gifts honoring Mr. Womackâs life may be made to Celebrate Recovery, First Baptist Church, 404 Love Avenue, Tifton, GA 31794 or to Hospice of Tift Area, P. O. Box 747, Tifton, GA 31793.