Betty Jo Pirkle

     COLUMBUS, GA --- Miss Betty Jo Pirkle, age 78, of Magnolia Manor Nursing Center, Columbus, GA died following a short illness, Wednesday, December 23, 2015.  A Celebration of Life will be held in the chapel of Watson-Giddens Funeral Home, 2:00 PM, Sunday, December 27, 2015 with a private burial to follow in the Ellaville Cemetery.  Family and friends are encouraged to bring photos and share stories as we gather together to celebrate the life of Betty Jo Pirkle.   

      Miss Pirkle was born December 22, 1937 in Turner County, GA, the daughter of the late Naomi Lillian Reynolds Pirkle and Cleon Ezekiel Pirkle.  She was a school teacher in Jacksonville, Florida for several years before attending Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas where she received her Masters.  She then served as Minister of Education and Administration at Highland Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee from October 1967 to October 1986 and later at Highland Heights Baptist Church also in Memphis, Tennessee.  She moved to Perry, Georgia near her brother, the late Reverend B. Condred Pirkle.  She remained in Perry, Georgia until moving to Magnolia Manor Nursing Center in Columbus, Georgia.

     Miss Pirkle is survived by one sister in law, Martha Cartwright Pirkle of Dahlonega, Georgia, a number of nieces, nephews and cousins.  In addition to her parents, Miss Pirkle was preceded in death by two sisters, Gladys Margaret Pirkle and Geraldine Lillian Cape Pirkle, five brothers, Glendon Ezekial Pirkle, Garnett Truett Pirkle, Cleon Edgar Pirkle, Bonnell Condred Pirkle and James Billy Pirkle.       

       Watson-Giddens Funeral Home of Ellaville, GA is in charge of arrangements.