Alice McGhee Padgett, beloved mother, grandmother, sister and aunt passed into eternal rest surrounded by family on Thursday, March 10, 2022 - just two days short of her 92nd birthday. A celebration of her life will be held Monday, March 14, 2022, in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals in Tifton, Ga. with visitation at 1:00 p.m. followed by a funeral service at 2:00 p.m. Mrs. Padgett will be laid to rest at New River Holiness Church Cemetery in Cook County.
Clay Connell, Frederick Hale, Larry Hale, Calvin Hale, Patrick Paige and Jason Hendricks will serve as pallbearers.
Recently of Brookfield, Ga., Mrs. Padgett was born in Cartersville, Ga. on March 12, 1930 to the late Beula Merinda Goddard McGhee and Dewey Cleveland McGhee. She was one of nine children who were raised on hard work and dedication to the Lord and was surrounded by extended family whom she loved and would return to after many years living in other areas of the south.
During her life, she was a homemaker, master seamstress, an award-winning gardener and a gifted storyteller who never had a shortage of material inspired by the people in her life. She had an overwhelming sense of compassion and generosity and provided a near-constant source of meals and advice for friends and neighbors in need.
She married the love of her life, the late Calvin Howard Padgett, in 1951 in Missouri. Mr. and Mrs. Padgett were a perfect balance for one another with Mr. Padgett taking a light-hearted approach to life, and Mrs. Padgett running a rather tight ship in her home. Her family can still hear her reminding Mr. Padgett of various to-dos like combing his hair, of which he had very little. Together Mr. and Mrs. Padgett raised three daughters. In them she imbued her strong sense of resourcefulness, independence and fiery spirit.
She is preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Calvin Howard Padgett; three sisters Grace Hale, Rachel Hale and Hazel Cattell; and two brothers Grady McGhee and Harce McGhee.
She is survived by her sister, Ruth Carrin of Jacksonville, Fla.; her daughters and their spouses, Diane Hendricks (Eddie) of Dublin, Ga., Denese Swackhamer (Rodney) of Waterford, Mich., and Pamala Moberly (Richard) of Kershaw, S.C.; eight grandchildren, Jason Hendricks (Cayce) of East Dublin, Ga., Alicin Hendricks (Richard Hamm) of Athens, Ga., Andrew Swackhamer (Jennifer) of Waterford, Mich., Mariko Moore (Dave) of Waterford, Mich., Evi Hildreth (Richard) of Orlando, Matthew Moberly (Joy) of Bradenton, Fla., Alysha Suppes (Dewey) of Waxaw, N.C., Logan Moberly (Amy) of Littleton, Colo; nine great-grandchildren and a multitude of nieces and nephews.
She will be missed, but her tenacity and tenderness, her independence and compassion, and her humor and hardworking nature will live on in those whose lives she touched.