Franklin Eugene “Gene” McDuffie, 86, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Sunday, May 12, 2019, at Dorminy Medical Center in Fitzgerald, Georgia.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at Arbor Baptist Church in Fitzgerald, with the Rev. Dr. Lloyd Stembridge officiating. Interment will follow in the Evergreen Cemetery in Fitzgerald. The family will receive friends Tuesday evening, from 6 PM until 8 PM, at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mr. McDuffie was born November 26, 1932, in Ben Hill County, Georgia, to the late Norman and Annie Smith McDuffie. He lived in the community all of his life and was a 1952 graduate of Fitzgerald High School. Mr. McDuffie served his country honorably in the United States Army during the Korean War. He was a former employee of Delco Remy in the shipping department. Mr. McDuffie was a loving father and grandfather and he enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a member of Arbor Baptist Church where he was a deacon and a member of his beloved Charity Sunday School Class.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Doris Nelms McDuffie of Fitzgerald; two sons: Ricky Eugene McDuffie & his wife Luci of Tyrone and Randy Scott McDuffie & his wife Jolie of Vidalia; five grandchildren: Luke McDuffie & Melissa, Mark McDuffie & Dana, Katie McDuffie, DeAnna Herr & Josh and Preston McDuffie and a great-grandson, Weston McDuffie. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by nine siblings: W.C. McDuffie, Ottis McDuffie, Morgan McDuffie, Mable Bobe, Juanita Walker, Annie Pearl Barron, Ruth Napier, Dee Alligood and Madeline Powell.