One of her many favorite quotes was, “Ya’ll He Called!”
Frances Denmark Hiers Whitworth, 94, passed peacefully at her home the afternoon of February 9, 2025. Known to most of her friends as “Coota” she was born February 18, 1930, in Fitzgerald, Georgia to Frances and James Hiers.
A celebration of life service will be held at 11 AM, Saturday, March 29, 2025, at Central Wesleyan Church, Fitzgerald, Georgia. The family will greet friends in the sanctuary beginning at 10 AM on Saturday. In keeping with her heart for helping others, she has donated her body to the Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy at Georgia Regent University.
Coota’s engaging personality was loved by so many! She is survived by her three daughters, four sons, one daughter in law, and two sons in laws: Ann Frances Whitworth (Kevin), Jane Alice Whitworth, Mary Elizabeth Whitworth (Rick). Richard Joseph Whitworth Jr., James Hiers Whitworth, David Martin Whitworth (Tammy), John Denmark Whitworth. Coota enjoyed the blessing of her ten grandchildren: Riis Whitworth, Selene De Los Santos, Nathan Parenteau, Killian James Whitworth, Wyatt Kane Whitworth, Madison Tate Whitworth, Breely Skye Whitworth, Laura Ann Whitworth, Katherine Grace Whitworth, Rowan Fiona Whitworth as well as five great-grand-children, Francis “Frankie” Moon Parenteau, Jehu Malakas De Los Santos, Selah Tiwala De Los Santos, Ezra Malaya De Los Santos, and Avi Isaac Gomez.
Following graduation from Fitzgerald High School in 1947, Coota completed a Bachelors in English from Wesleyan College in 1951. Her lifelong calling was in education and advocacy for children. She started her career in education as a teacher in Albany, Georgia in the early 1950’s and finished that era at Sweetser Children’s Home in Saco, Maine in the early 1990’s. She moved home to Fitzgerald in 1991 where she continued to work with children as a substitute teacher and served on the inaugural team of Communities In School for the Ben Hill County School System. Coota knew no stranger and lived out her passion for serving, with her vibrant spirit, in “her” church and community.