Mrs. Lillie Mae Rathburn, 95, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died Friday, May 21, 2021, at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton, Georgia.
Funeral services will be held 2 PM, Tuesday, May 25, 2021, at Fitzgerald Church of God in Fitzgerald, with the Rev. Dewain Joiner and the Rev. Josh Bowles officiating. Interment will follow in Old Field Cemetery in Ben Hill County. The family will receive friends from 6-8 Monday evening at the funeral home in Fitzgerald.
Mrs. Rathburn was born September 8, 1925, in Abba, Georgia, to the late Frank & Florence Fountain Williams. She worked as a seamstress at the Fitzgerald Cotton Mill and H.R. Kaminsky & Sons. She was a devoted farmer’s wife and homemaker. She also worked in child care at Ms. Pam’s Daycare. Mrs. Rathburn was a fervent prayer warrior and a member of Fitzgerald Church of God for over 70 years. She taught Sunday school for over 40 years and loved to sing in the choir.
She is survived by her 10 children and their spouses: Johnny & Vivian Rathburn of Abbeville, Jeanette & Lawrence Jenks of Ocilla, Darlene & Wayne Miller of Valley, Alabama, Jerry Rathburn of Irwin County, Sandra Paramore of Rochelle, Ronnie & Pat Rathburn of Fitzgerald, Randy & Audrey Rathburn of Abbeville, William David Rathburn of Abbeville, Billy Joe & Sue Rathburn of Fitzgerald, and Donald & Dorothy Rathburn of Fitzgerald; 33 grandchildren; 89 great-grandchildren; 58 great-great-grandchildren; an “adopted” daughter, Pam Gay of Fitzgerald; an “adopted” son, Harvey & Linda Miller of Beulah, Alabama and an “adopted” granddaughter, Jennifer Pedrick Jones of Fitzgerald. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, John Hallett Rathburn, Sr. as well as 11 brothers and sisters.