Lorraine Griner Gorday, 96, of Fitzgerald, Georgia, died May 10, 2022, at Pinewood Manor in Hawkinsville, Georgia.
Graveside services will be held 2 PM, Saturday, May 14, 2022, at Evergreen Cemetery, in Fitzgerald, Georgia, with the Rev. Steve O’Neal officiating. The family will greet friends following the services at the cemetery.
Mrs. Gorday was born August 30, 1925, in Athens, Georgia, to the late Dr. Adlai Bee & Nina Lou Bass Griner. She was a graduate of Valdosta State College and the University of Georgia, where she sang in the Glee Club. She attended Shorter College as well. She earned Bachelors and Masters degrees in Education. She worked as a special education teacher for systems in Lyons, Douglas, Turner County, Willacoochee and Fernandina Beach, Florida. She also worked for Ben Hill County, the Fitzgerald City System and Irwin County Schools. She held a lifetime teaching certificate and was a member of the Retired Teachers Association and Arbor Baptist Church.
She is survived by her two daughters: Diana McGowan Pate and Danny of Fitzgerald and Nina Bebe McGowan of Fitzgerald; grandchildren: Mark Ashley Pate & Deanna of Fitzgerald, Tara Pate Clements & Robbie of Irwin County, and David Dixon of Tennessee; and great-grandchildren: Wesley Perry, Caroline Peery & Paxton, Chloe Pate, and Carlee Pate. Two nephews and a number of great-nieces and nephews also survive. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Ruel Jack Gorday; a son, David Gary Gorday; a great-granddaughter, Leslie Ann Perry; and two sisters: Sylvia Griner Buglioli Crumbley and Dianne Griner.