Mrs. Frances Denmark Hiers, 100, of Fitzgerald, died Friday, July 16, 2010 at her residence.
Funeral services will be held 11 A.M. Tuesday, July 20, at Central United Methodist Church with Rev. Keith Goodlett and Rev. David Whitworth officiating. Nancy Hough will share words of remembrance. Interment to follow in Evergreen Cemetery. The family will receive friends 6-8 Monday evening at the funeral home.
Mrs. Hiers was born August 20, 1909 in Fitzgerald to the late Dr. A.H. and Bertha Twiss Denmark. She was a 1926 graduate of Fitzgerald High School and went on to attend the State Normal College in Athens, where she majored in drama. In 1945 she and her husband opened Hiers Jewelers. Mrs. Hiers was the first woman to be elected president of the Georgia Jewelers’ Association and was later awarded an honorary lifetime membership in the organization. She ran the jewelry store for more than forty years and directed over 1000 weddings. Mrs. Hiers was a lifetime member of Central United Methodist Church where she taught Sunday school and served on numerous committees and boards. A member of the Pilot Club of Fitzgerald for over 60 years, she served two terms as president. Mrs. Hiers was active in the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill Arts Council and in 1987 the council named her its “Arts Person of the Year”. The Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Chamber of Commerce awarded her the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. She was a member of the Review Club. Mrs. Hiers taught “expression” at Fitzgerald High School for a number of years and directed the school plays. She also directed the first outdoor productions of “Our Friends, the Enemy,” Beth Davis’ play about the founding of Fitzgerald. As a descendant of Fitzgerald pioneers, she served for many years on the board of directors of the Blue and Gray Memorial Association and was a long-time supporter of the Blue and Gray Museum. She was named Mother of the Year by the Fitzgerald Junior Woman’s Club in 1970.
She is survived by her daughters: Frances “Coota” Whitworth of Fitzgerald and Harriett Hiers of Folsom, LA; grandchildren: Richard J. Whitworth, Jr., Ann F. (Kevin Nowak) Whitworth, Jane A. Whitworth, James H. Whitworth, Rev. David M. (Tammy) Whitworth, Mary E. Whitworth and John D. (Christina) Whitworth; great grandchildren: Iris Whitworth, Selene Whitworth, Nathan Parenteau, Killian Whitworth, Wyatt Whitworth, Madison Whitworth, Breely Whitworth, Laura Ann Whitworth and Katie Whitworth. Along with her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, James M. “Jimmy” Hiers and sisters, Alice Wehrspaun and Marjorie Baker.
Memorials may be made to the Central United Methodist Church Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 428, Fitzgerald, GA 31750 or to Blue-Gray Community Hospice, P.O. Box 1447, Fitzgerald, GA 31750.