Richard Lee Jellison

Richard Lee Jellison, 90, of Paulding County, Georgia, passed away on Tuesday, January 3, 2023, from complications of congestive heart failure, at Kennestone Hospital, Marietta, Georgia. He was laid to rest in Pine Ridge Memorial Cemetery in Kennesaw.

Dick was born in Iowa City, Iowa on September 9, 1932, and grew up during the Great Depression in a house with no running water. As a child he was responsible for keeping the coal bucket filled for heating and cooking, and sold newspapers for 2 cents on a street corner. At age 14 he began retrieving golf balls from water hazards at the local golf course for a few pennies apiece. Later he was able to support himself doing caddie work, inspiring a lifetime love of golf.

At age 17, Dick volunteered for the Army and proudly served in Okinawa during the Korean War. After his discharge he first worked in Southern California as a bus driver for Greyhound. In 1968 while working as a truck driver he met and married his wife Bonnie. He continued driving trucks for many years, but after suffering a back injury, and with his children still in school, returned to school himself and then began a new career in drafting. The family lived for a time in St. George, Utah, then Colorado Springs, Colorado, and finally settled in the Atlanta area.

Survivors include one son, Jim Jellison, of Paulding County, Lynn (Mark) Taylor of Stow, Massachusetts, and one grandchild, Garrison Taylor. His loving wife, Bonnie Jean Powell, died in 2010. He was preceded in death by his parents, Elmer Roy Jellison and Mary Ernestine Larkey.

Please join us in celebrating his life on Thursday, January 19, 2023 at noon at West Ridge Church, 3522 Hiram Acworth Hwy, Dallas, Georgia.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.winkenhoferpineridgefuneralhome.com for the Jellison family.