Derrick Forrest Ogletree, 67, of Ashburn, passed away Thursday, March 26, 2020. A private graveside service will be held for Mr. Ogletree Sunday, March 29, 2020, at Tift Memorial Gardens, where he will be laid to rest. The Rev. Marshall Kennedy will officiate. The family will have a Celebration of Life for Mr. Ogletree at a later date.
Derrick was born in Tifton to Leonard and Julia Faye Franks Ogletree on March 8, 1953. He graduated from Tift County High School in 1971, then attended the Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, Tennessee.
In 1982, he moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where he became a Master Electrician. He owned his own business before joining the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), where he worked until he retired in 2015.
He enjoyed traveling to help with restoration efforts after storms like Hurricane Katrina, with which he helped in South Florida for a few weeks before moving to New Orleans for months to help with restoration efforts.
He was a deacon at Corinth Freewill Baptist Church in Brookfield after moving back to Tifton in 2013. He has lived in Ashburn with his wife, Karen "Kay" since 2016.
He loved his family. He loved being around his immediate and extended family as much as he could. There weren't many family events that he missed.
Derrick is survived by his wife, Karen “Kay” Hicks Ogletree of Ashburn; his mother, Julia Faye Franks Ogletree; son, Michael (Senthia) Ogletree of Provo, Utah; daughter, Michelle (Eric) Petty of Jacksonville, Florida; two grandsons, Derek and Isaac; five granddaughters, Haley and Mackenzie Petty, Amara, Raelee and Jayda; sister, Sandra Bishop (Dale); brother, Gregory Ogletree; step daughters, Sharon Buchte (Charlie), with three daughters, Melena Bryant (Wayne), with two sons, Tonya Niezek (John), with a daughter and son, Dawn Kent (Travis), with two daughters; and his mother-in-law, Carmen Hicks.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Myeloma Foundation at www.myeloma.org/myeloma/foundation.