Following a private family burial ceremony in Parkhill Cemetery, a memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Monday, December 4, 2017 at First Presbyterian Church with Rev. Joel L. Alvis, Jr., PhD, officiating. After the service, the family will receive visitors in the church’s Johnson Gathering Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to First Presbyterian Church, 1100 First Ave. Columbus, Georgia 31901 Columbus Hospice, www.columbushospice.com, or the American Cancer Society, www.acscan.org.
Frank was born on October 10, 1946, at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of the late Frank Scarborough Etheridge II and Hazel Scott Etheridge. The family moved to Columbus when Frank was two years old and he grew up in a house on the corner of Catherine and Camille Drives. His was one of the first classes to attend the newly built Clubview Elementary School. Frank graduated from Columbus High School in 1964. He returned to Atlanta to attend Georgia Tech and graduated with the class of 1968 with a BS in Industrial Management. He received an MBA in Finance from Georgia State University in 1972. Frank began his lifelong career in banking in January of 1969, in Atlanta with Trust Company of Georgia. He stayed with the bank through two name changes, Trust Company Bank and Sun-Trust, and three moves, Atlanta to Albany, and back to Atlanta, then settling in Columbus in
1988. He retired as President and CEO of SunTrust Bank, West Georgia in June of 2009. To Frank, banking was all about relationships which he enjoyed developing with his customers, the bank’s Board of Directors, and his co-workers. He took a special pride in fostering talent within the bank and enjoyed watching the outstanding success of so many of SunTrust West Georgia’s employees. His life was one of firm commitments to his faith, his family, and his community. He was ordained a deacon in 1980 at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Albany, He served First Presbyterian Church in Columbus for many years as both a deacon and an elder. He had a steadfast
faith in God and his savior, Jesus Christ, and a genuine love for First Presbyterian, his church family, and his spiritual brothers in the Men’s Prayer Breakfast group. His two children were a source of enormous joy and Frank loved time spent with them along their life journeys. He served in leadership positions on many boards that have shaped the life and look of Columbus,
from the past, Historic Columbus Foundation, to the future, MidTown, Inc., and the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley. He brought his expertise in leadership and finance to many other community boards to include the Columbus High School Foundation, the Columbus Museum, the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, Vote Yes for Schools, St. Francis
Hospital, the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, the Valley Partnership, the Urban League, the Development Authority of Columbus, Springer Opera House, United Way, Uptown Columbus, Trade Center Authority, Columbus State University Foundation and Columbus Technical College Foundation. He was a member of the Candun Club, Downtown Rotary Club, Country Club of
Columbus, and was a founding member of the Chattahoochee River Club.
Frank loved to travel and he and Jane explored the world, visiting all seven continents and sites all over the United States. They rode elephants in Africa and Thailand, camels in Wadi Rum, a bicycle rickshaw in New Delhi, the Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls, and a Zodiac in Antarctica. Frank’s other passions included Georgia Tech and Ramblin’ Wreck football, working in his yard, exercising at the Y, and a series of beloved dogs (Spot, Taffy, Sandy, Sugar, Deacon, Daisy, and RC).
He leaves to cherish his memory his wife of 47 years, Jane; daughter Alison, son-in-law Hoyt, and grandchildren Elizabeth Jane and John Hoyt Hackney of Charlotte; son Frank Etheridge IV of New Orleans and Columbus; brother Scott Etheridge of New York City; sister Margaret Etheridge Wolters and brother-in-law Garrett Wolters of Atlanta; brother- and sister-in-law Hugh
and Wendy Durden of Ponte Vedra, Florida; sister- and brother-in-law Becky and Hackett Brewer of Marietta; brother- and sister-in-law Mark and Lynne Durden of Marietta; and sister-in-law Jackie Durden of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, along with a host of nieces, nephews, and cousins who join in celebration of his life.
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