Mrs. Rachel Elizabeth McAllister Key, 89, of Tifton, died Wednesday, June 7, 2006, at Tift Health Care. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, June 10, 2006, at 2:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. Rev. Mike Toluba of the First United Methodist Church and Rev. Bruce Roberts of the International House of Prayer in Tifton will officiate. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Grandsons and nephews will serve as pallbearers. The family will receive friends on Saturday, June 10, 2006, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., prior to the services.
Ms. Key was born on January 4, 1917 in Chattanooga, Tennessee and was the daughter of William Perry McAllister and Sarah Jane Newman McAllister, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Hulus Edgar Key, Sr., who passed away exactly seven years ago on June 7, 1999; a son, Hulus Edgar Key, Jr. and one great grandchild, Leah Faith Smith; two brothers; and four sisters. She was secretary to the Director of Christian Education of the First United Methodist Church and billing clerk for the City of Tifton. She was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Tifton since August of 1954, where she taught the Kindergarten Sunday School Class and kept the church nursery. She was a Gold Star Mother of the American Legion and a member of Circle 4, Christian Sunday School Class and Club 55, all of the First United Methodist Church.
Ms. Key is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Perry and Kim Key of Tifton; one daughter and son-in-law, Becky and Hoyt Vance of Tifton; 6 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren, Deidra Baerwald and her husband, Dean, and their children, Paren and Payton, of Tifton; Keylee Hartley and her husband, Brad, and their child, Kamie, of Valdosta; Sandi Bittle and her husband, Rusty, of Knoxville, Tennessee; Traci Fletcher and her children, Hannah and Madison, of Tifton; Bryan Key and his wife, Sheryl, and their children, Cayla, Grace and Sam, of Tifton; and Seth Key of Tifton.