Lewis Inman Brinson, age 96, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Saturday morning, March 9, 2019, at his residence.
Funeral services will be held at 11 A.M., Monday, March 11, 2019, at First Baptist Church in Fitzgerald, Georgia, with the Rev. Blane Jacobs officiating. Kate Cox will share a poem. Interment will be held at 3:30 P.M., Monday, in the Bishop Chapel Cemetery in Emanuel County with the Rev. Franklin Sasser officiating. The family will receive friends beginning at 10 A.M. on Monday at First Baptist Church.
Mr. Brinson was born April 23, 1922, in Emanuel County, Georgia, to the late I.H. & Mattie Lou Bishop Brinson. He was a graduate of Emanuel County Institute in Twin City, Georgia. He served his country honorably on Tinian Island in the Army Air Corps during World War II as a Crew Chief on a B-29 Bomber. He was there when the peace treaty with the Japanese was signed. The GI Bill enabled Mr. Brinson to attend college after the war and he graduated from Georgia Teachers College and North Carolina State. He also earned certification from the University of North Carolina and the University of Georgia.
Mr. Brinson was a lifelong educator who started his career at Fitzgerald High School in 1948. In 1968, he helped set up a new technical school, Ben Hill-Irwin Technical School, and served as the first director, retiring in 1984. Mr. Brinson was a member of First Baptist Church in Fitzgerald where he served as Sunday School Superintendent. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Fitzgerald, serving as President in 1979 and also on various committees. He was given a Master Teacher Award and was elected to the Georgia Hall of Fame for Vocational Educators.
He is survived by his wife, Barbara Brinson of Fitzgerald; son, Lewis I. Brinson, Jr. (Nancy) of Fitzgerald; daughter, Betsy Brinson Sampson (Allen) of Dothan, Alabama; sister, Betty Sue Davis of Port Wentworth; step-daughter, Layne Cox (Dee) of Albany; two step-sons, Scott Nolen and Craig Nolen (Heather), all of Atlanta; ten grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Betty Jones Brinson; a brother, Irvin Brinson, Jr.; and three sisters: Mildred Kemp, Mary Sturgis, and Sara Fagler.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 367, Fitzgerald, GA 31750 or to the donor’s favorite charity in Fitzgerald.