William Farris McGee

William Farris McGee passed away on Dec. 14, 2019, in Flagler Beach, Florida, after a valiant fight with cancer. He was born in 1934 in Rome, Georgia, to Frank E. McGee and Mable Farris McGee. He attended Rome public schools, Darlington School Lower Forms, and graduated high school from Sewanee Military Academy, Sewanee, Tennessee.

At the University of Georgia, McGee joined the honor military fraternity Pershing Rifles as well as Kappa Alpha fraternity and was manager of the UGA swim team. A die-hard Bulldog his entire life, some have said he would “bleed red and black” (Georgia’s school colors).

The following six years after graduation were spent as an Instructor and Assistant Professor at the Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Georgia, where McGee was twice recognized as Teacher of the Year. In 1961 he received a National Defense Scholarship and returned to the University of Georgia and finished his master’s degree in education.

He was offered a full scholarship in 1964 to attend the Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia. He was a member of the Mercer Law Review staff and published several case-notes. He also received the State of Georgia Legal Essay Award.

In the summer of 1967, McGee was employed as a legal intern with the National Labor Relations Board in Atlanta, Georgia, and later rose to the rank of Hearing Officer. In 1968 he was admitted to the Florida Bar and the old Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. He moved to Flagler Beach, Florida, and was engaged in the practice of law until health problems resulted in retirement in 1998. In addition to his private practice, McGee served for many years as part-time Assistant Public Defender of Flagler County.

In past years he was a member of the Flagler County Rotary Club, the Flagler County Council on Aging and the Florida Bar Committee on Unauthorized Practice of Law. McGee often stated that helping to start the Flagler Palm Coast High School wrestling team with Dr. Ben Lacy in 1974 was the most enjoyable community work he ever did. He was a team mentor the rest of his life, giving most of the credit for the team’s success -- including multiple individual and state championships – to his good friend Coach Steve DeAugustino.

McGee was an active Freemason and held a Perpetual Membership in Bunnell Lodge 200, F&AM, and was a charter member of Sirius Sunshine Lodge 402, F&AM, as well as a 32nd Degree Scottish Rite, York Rite Mason and a Shriner.

He is survived by his devoted wife of 63 years, Anita (Ann); four children: William (Martha) McGee, St. Johns, Florida; Laura (Donald Dueling) McGee, Jacksonville, Florida; Derrick McGee and Andrew McGee, Flagler Beach, Florida; four grandchildren: John (Sophie Clark) Clavier, Sherman Oaks, California; Parker McGee, Jacksonville, Florida; Laurel and Mollie McGee, Lake City, Florida; and his sister-in-law Linda Cofer, Thomasville, Georgia. Farris was predeceased by his parents and his brother, Milton Eugene McGee, who was his only sibling.

A Celebration of Life for McGee will be held Saturday, January 11, 2020, at Craig-Flagler Palms Funeral Home. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. until the service begins at 2:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in McGee’s name to Shriners Hospital for Children, 12502 USF Pine Drive, Tampa, FL 33612. McGee will be buried at a later date in Rome, Georgia.