James Carroll (Jay) Whittle, III, 30, of Miramar, FL, passed away at his residence on June 2, 2010.
Graveside services will be held 4 PM, Sunday, June 6, 2010 in the Evergreen Cemetery, Fitzgerald with Rev. Hugh Ward and Rev. James Griffin officiating. The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 3:00 Sunday afternoon at Paulk Funeral Home.
Jay was born on June 6, 1979 in Tift County to Lynn Walker Whittle and the late James Carroll (Jimmy) Whittle, Jr. He lived his early years in Fitzgerald, moving to Griffin in 1986 and then to Tifton in 1990. A 1997 graduate of Tift County High School, he attended college at ABAC as well as the University of Georgia. In September, 2003 Jay entered the Marine Corps, becoming an expert marksman. His honorable discharge came in June, 2008 having attained the rank of Sergeant. While in the USMC; he served two tours in Iraq as well as one tour in Okinawa. After his service to his country, Jay went on to work for two Department of Defense contractors, Systek and ITT. In May, 2010, he began working for MTN providing maritime telecommunications services for ships, yachts and offshore well drilling rigs. He was a certified VSAT instructor. Jay was a member of the First Baptist Church of Tifton.
His love for guitars and music came at a young age, watching his dad and friends play. This was a passion that he enjoyed throughout his life. He also sang beautifully, but not often. His love for reading came from his mother. They shared books on a regular basis, and each was quick to recommend new authors to the other. Jay also loved animals. When home with his parents in Moultrie, he would bring one of the bird dogs in nightly. Each of them had baths on a regular basis and enjoyed sleeping inside with him. The horses were also glad when they saw Jay coming as they knew they would be fed extra grain. He enjoyed driving the tractor and mowing the pastures. His knowledge of construction and plumbing was quite impressive as he re-built stalls and installed new automatic watering troughs for the horses. When he was home, everything was squared away, just like the Marine Corps had taught him.
Jay is survived by his mother: Lynn Whittle Heard and stepfather: Frank S. (Buck) Heard of Moultrie; brother: William Walker Whittle of Tallahassee, FL; stepsister, her husband and nephew: Katie Heard Marzolf, Dr. Landin Marzolf, and Logan Shipp Marzolf of Bainbridge and stepbrother: Bailey Heard of Moultrie. He is also survived by his maternal aunts and uncles: Virginia and Norman Ethridge, Ann and Philip Griner and Thelma Clark, all of Fitzgerald. His paternal aunt and uncle are Jean and James Griffin of Rebecca. He has six cousins: Matthew and Josh Griffin of Rebecca, Melissa Kelly of Watkinsville, Lt. Michael Griner (USMC) of Marietta, Norma Holton and Chris Ethridge of Fitzgerald. Jay also considered Billy Smith and Lawton Berotti, two of his Dad’s closest friends, as honorary uncles. There were also cousins, Robbie and Ronnie Davis of Savannah that he viewed as uncles. In addition to his father, he was preceded in death by maternal grandparents: William Clyde Walker and Mary Ruth Sumner Walker, as well as his paternal grandparents: James Carroll Whittle, Sr. and Margie McDaniel Whittle.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Operation Homefront at operationhomefront.net, a support service for wounded warriors and their families, or to your favorite charity.