Ruth Naomi Coggins Sumner, 90, of Tifton passed away Wednesday, April 26, 2023, at her residence. Her funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, April 29, 2023, in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals with the Rev. Paul Brewer officiating. Mrs. Sumner will be laid to rest at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Friday, April 28, 2023, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. The family will be gathering at the home of her son, David Sumner, 520 Windy Hill Road, Tifton, GA 31794.
Josh Sumner, Matthew Palmer, Chad Cioban, Thomas Sumner, Ellis Gunter and Joel Watson will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Tyler Sumner, Ben Cioban, Sumner Palmer, Andrew Watson, Everette Rowan, Tim Sumner, Aubrey Sumner, Christian Sumner, Jon Whitfield, Stephen Scott, Jack Mitchell, Ken Ponder and Jerry Douglas.
Born August 8, 1932, in Ludville, Georgia, Mrs. Sumner was the daughter of the late Columbus Garland Coggins and Sula Jane Pittman Coggins. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 49 years, T. S. Sumner; one brother, Buster Coggins; one sister, Verna Abbott; and her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Elwood Sumner (Juanita), Rudolph Sumner (Mary), Faye Watson (Bobby) and Howard Sumner (Bernadine). She attended Lee College for two years and she was a homemaker. She was an avid gardener and she loved flowers, especially roses. People would come from all over to see her roses. In later years, she enjoyed crocheting and needlework.
Mrs. Sumner is survived by her children and their spouses, Latrelle Palmer (Charles), David Sumner and Dwight Sumner (Carol), all of Tifton; two sisters and one brother-in-law, Geneva Gunter (E. J.) of Anderson, South Carolina and Helen Coggins of Phoenix, Arizona; and three brothers and two sisters-in-law, Billy Coggins of Phoenix, Arizona, Virgil Coggins (Trish) of Chantilly, Virginia, and Bobby (Gwyn) Coggins of Prescott Valley, Arizona; her grandchildren and their spouses, Josh Sumner (Angel), Hannah Hope Cioban (Chad) and Matthew Palmer (Amanda); her great-grandchildren, Tyler Sumner, Caroline Cioban, Avery Sumner, Ben Cioban, Sumner Palmer, Anna Ruth Palmer and Abigail Grace Palmer; and her brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Valda Rowan, Charles Sumner (Sandra) and Mary Sumner.
Flowers will be accepted, or memorial gifts may be made to Voice of God Recordings, P. O. Box 950, Jeffersonville, IN 47131 (1-812-256-1177).
The family would like to express their sincere appreciation to Cypress Pond; Traditions Hospice; Mrs. Sumner’s caregivers, Rhonda Johnson, Pat Connell, Diane Singletary and Patricia Harris; and her friend, Vicki VandenEynden.