George R Bethune Jr.

George Royal Bethune, Jr. of Ridgeview Drive, Cartersville, Georgia died on November 8, 2020 of natural causes. Roy was born on March 10, 1914 in Atlanta, Georgia, son of George Bethune, Sr. and Gladys Kirk Bethune. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Gaines Bethune, by a brother, Manning Kirk Bethune, and his parents. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Cartersville, where at various times, he served as Sunday School teacher, Sunday School superintendent, Chairman of Building Committee, Deacon, Elder, Clerk of Session, and Trustee. He was a graduate of Georgia Tech. He worked for the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company for forty-three years and retired in 1979 as Plant Manager of the Goodyear Mill in Cartersville. He served on active duty in the Army for five years just preceding and during World War II, was honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and remained in the Army Reserve until his retirement. He was a Charter Member and past President of the Kiwanis Club. He was a Board Member and 1980 Chairman of the local Chamber of Commerce. In the past, he served as Bartow District Chairman of the Boy Scouts of America and for several years was active in the American Cancer Society. He was a board member of the Cartersville/Bartow College Foundation (Georgia Highlands College). He was recognized in 2014 as being the oldest living WWII veteran in Bartow County. In 2020, he was recognized as being the oldest living graduate of Georgia Tech. He loved the games of tennis and croquet and had many tennis and croquet friends. Surviving are his daughter Ann Bethune Holcomb of Macon, GA; daughter Elizabeth Bethune Sanders and son-in-law Wallace Sanders of Decatur, AL; his son, G. R. (Bill) Bethune, III, and daughter-in-law, Tina Bethune of Mooresville, NC; five grandchildren and spouses, Libba and Phil Griffin of Lakeland, FL; Dr. Bill Holcomb of Macon, GA; Julie and Ian Hayley of Macon, GA; Hal and Pam Sanders; Kirk and Christy Sanders of Decatur, AL; and Shelby and Tommie Locklear of Maxton, NC; eight great-grandchildren and spouses, Dylan and Brittany Griffin; Gaines and Matt Lynott; Joe Sanders, Ella Sanders, Emma Hayley, Trey Sanders, Sarah Sanders, and Dallas Locklear; three great-great grandchildren, Atticus, Knox, and Madeline Griffin; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews. Funeral services will be held at Owen Funeral Home on Thursday, November 12th at 2:00 p.m. with Pastor Leigh Jones officiating. Family will receive friends at the funeral home one hour prior to the service. Dr. Ross Whatley, Phil Bridges, Stan Tilley, Alec Caswell, Doug Langford, Richard Cunningham, Bob Neal, and Tom Lewis will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers are Dr. John Cowan, Wyley Steed, Randy Thompson, Bill Shadden, S. B. Moore, Frank Johnson, Jim Delinger, and Scott Painter. If you have a memorable story about Roy we encourage you to email to [email protected]. In lieu of flowers we encourage donations to the George Royal Bethune, Jr. Scholarship Endowment at Georgia Tech. Memorial gifts can be made to the Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc. Include, George Royal Bethune, Jr. Scholarship Endowment on the memo line. Mailing address for checks is: Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc.; 760 Spring Street, NW; Suite 400; Atlanta, GA 30308. Gifts can also be made online at http://development.gatech.edu . With the online giving, the donor should include George Royal Bethune, Jr. Scholarship Endowment as the designation.

Please visit www.owenfunerals.com to post tributes and sign the on-line register.

Owen Funeral Home, 12 Collins Dr., Cartersville, GA 30120 has charge of the arrangements.