John Ronald Paulk "Ron" of Fitzgerald, Georgia passed away on Saturday, October 25, 2025. He was 90. A service celebrating Ron's life will be held at 2 PM, Sunday, November 2, 2025, at The Paulk Funeral Home Chapel in Fitzgerald, Georgia. Interment will follow in Evergreen Cemetery, Fitzgerald. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the services.
Born February 8, 1935 in Irwin County to the late John C. and Marjorie Paulk, he was a 1953 graduate of Irwin County High School. Ron earned a mechanical engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1959. During his time at Georgia Tech, Ron ranked first in his ROTC class, was a co-op student, and he was a member of Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity. Also while at Georgia Tech, Ron met the love of his life, Jean Fargason Paulk, to whom he was married almost 68 years.
Ron served in the Armed Forces of the United States for thirty-seven years. His service began with ROTC in high school through college, then active-duty in the U.S. Army. Thereafter, Ron served in the Georgia National Guard achieving the rank of Brigadier General and commanding the 48th Infantry Brigade. During his service in the National Guard, Ron graduated from the U.S. Army War College, attended Harvard University's Executive Program in National and International Security, and traveled extensively around the world.
As a civilian, Ron was an entrepreneur. He began a company that manufactured farm equipment and was awarded U.S. Patents for his inventions of a peanut inverter and an irrigation system coupling. Ron's other business ventures included manufacturing companies specializing in display racks and furniture. He wrote custom computer programs for businesses during the infancy of computerization. He and Jean owned and operated the Fitzgerald Dairy Queen for fifteen years, the Home Furniture Company for ten years, and a residential rental business for over sixty years.
Ron took great pride in the community where he spent most of his career -- Fitzgerald, Georgia. In the early seventies, he helped coordinate a local group of business leaders to start The Bank of Fitzgerald which grew to become Colony Bankcorp with its stock currently traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Ron served on the Advisory Committee to bring Ben Hill-Irwin Vocational Technical School to the community which is now part of Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. Ron was a member of the Fitzgerald Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, was Chairman of the Administrative Board at Central United Methodist Church, served two terms on the Fitzgerald City School Board, and served over ten years as the Chairman of the Board of the Fitzgerald and Ben Hill County Development Authority. In 2022, Ron was recognized with the
Chamber's Lifetime Achievement Award.
It is with much gratitude and love that we say good bye to a man that dedicated his life to serving his family, his country, and his community. As the military would say, you are officially AT EASE and forever loved. Ron is survived by his wife, Jean Paulk; his daughters, Margie (Charles) Benoit, Millie (Cliff) Ward, Melindia (Greg) Morgan; his grandchildren, Britt (Max) DeMott, John (Jodi) Benoit, Shelby (Colby) Mills, Leah (John) Foster, Marilyn (David) Stromquist, and Kent Morgan; his great grandchildren, Caroline and Madilyn "Cookie" DeMott; Hattie, Harris, and Haisten Benoit; Cooper, Tatum, and Cameron Mills; and many nieces and nephews. Ron was preceded in death by his younger siblings, Robert A. Paulk and Alan G. Paulk, and Cecile Paulk Sumner.
A special thank you to the Lakeside Senior Care team in Douglas, Georgia for the continued love and support shown to Ron and Jean Paulk. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Wiregrass Georgia Technical College Foundation North, c/o Mona MacKenzie, 667 Perry House Road, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.
Paulk Funeral Home, Fitzgerald, is in charge of arrangements.