Katy Ruth Branch, 87, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Thursday, July 12, 2018, at her residence.
Funeral services will be held 3 PM, Sunday, July 15, 2018, at The Paulk Funeral Home Chapel in Fitzgerald, with the Rev. Tom Braziel officiating. Interment will follow in Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service at the funeral home on Sunday.
Mrs. Branch was born August 27, 1930, in Ben Hill County, Georgia, to the late James Roscoe & Nell Dorminy Kimball. She was a 1946 graduate of Fitzgerald High School. As a child, she helped her parents run the milk routes of Kimball’s Dairy. She attended college in Macon. After she returned home, she worked as a beautician and also worked at Sears. Following her marriage, she was the bookkeeper for Branch Oil Company and later the family farm, Branch-Kimball Farms. Mrs. Branch was a Pink Lady with the Dorminy Medical Center Auxiliary and enjoyed playing bridge and being a member of the “Do Nothing” club. She loved to read, watch birds, and grow flowers. She enjoyed spending time in the mountains as well. She was a member of First Baptist Church of Fitzgerald and the Dorcas Golden Circle Sunday School Class.
She is survived by her children and their spouses: Ronny S. Branch & Karen of Fitzgerald and Peggy Branch Hornback & Dr. Bill of Tifton; a daughter-in-law, Sheila Parrish Branch of Fitzgerald; grandchildren and their spouses: Brian Branch & Sharie, Jody Branch & Laura, Andy Branch & Sherri, Josh Branch & Anna, and Katy Willis & Paten; 12 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; and a brother, Harold Kimball & Nancy of Fitzgerald. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Paul S. Branch, Jr.; a son, Max E. Branch; three brothers: James Roscoe Kimball, Jr., Howard Kimball, and Thomas R. “Tom” Kimball; and two sisters, Margaret Bruce and Dorothy Nell Dix.
The family suggests those desiring to send memorials may send them to Hospice of Tift Area, P O Drawer 747, Tifton GA 31793.