Helen Geraldine “Gerry” Pearman, 84, of Tifton died Tuesday, September 14, 2010, at Maple Court Assisted Living. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 17, 2010, in the Memorial Chapel of Tifton’s First Baptist Church. Rev. Paul Thomas, Dr. Wayne Roe and Dr. W. Ches Smith III will officiate with burial to follow at Mount Zion Baptist Church Cemetery in Chula. Frank Jones, Keith Nelms, Bob Nelms, Jared York, Ken Hooper and Robert Gartman will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. Tisha Williams, Joy and Ken Hooper, Marilyn Mixon, Joyce Parker, Mark Baker, Ida Goolsby, Betty Kicklighter, Margie Coleman and former First Baptist Church drama participants. The body will be placed in the church at 9:00 a.m. (two hours prior to the service).
Gerry was born on February 28, 1926 in Tift County and was the daughter of Fred Pearman and Maudell Cheek Pearman, both deceased. She was also preceded in death by an infant brother; one sister, Barbara Pearman; and one brother-in-law, Jack Jones. She graduated from Chula School and, in 1943, from Tifton High School, where she was class Valedictorian. Immediately following her graduation, she boarded a Greyhound bus to Warner Robins, using her high-school-acquired Civil Service eligibility to serve on the Employee Relations and Robins Field War Ration Board staff. Her lifetime of public service covered intervening years on County and State staffs of Farmers Home Administration offices in Carrollton, Atlanta and Tifton. As a Real Estate Transaction Specialist with the Post Office Department’s Atlanta Regional Office, she was employed during the award and construction of the current Tifton Post Office building.
Infinitely more important than her employment history was Gerry’s continuous dedication and growth in her creative and spiritual development, her dedication and service in areas involving public service and the urge for her own spiritual growth and the enrichment of lives of her contemporaries. Ever on the lookout for areas of service, she found volunteer service in the Aidmore Home for Disadvantaged Children; adopted, visited and encouraged a young lady in a state facility for delinquent girls; and taught and participated in church-related programs for age groups ranging from junior boys through senior adults. She loved creative writing and poetry and drew from her own observations and viewpoints of inspiration and beauty in the lives of people in her environment. Her creations were included on the pages of Southern Baptist publications, the Salvation Way Cry and in numerous awards and honors to both personal and business contemporaries. During her retirement years, she helped organize and directed the drama ministry at Tifton’s First Baptist Church. She and other church dramatists performed both original and contemporary dramatic productions in the First Baptist Church sanctuary, Family Life Center and the Memorial Chapel.
Gerry is survived by her best friend and care-giver, Donna Robb; a sister and brother-in-law, Bob and Billie Pearman Nelms; a sister, Nell Pearman Jones; and nephews and nieces, Keith, Carol and Sarah Nelms, Terri and David York, Jared and Kristin York, Aaron York and Hannah York, Ginger and David Phelps, Samuel and Benjamin Phelps, Frank Jones, Jr., Nicki Jones and Jake, Kelsey and Ashlyn Jones.
Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to Forward in Faith Building Fund at Tifton's First Baptist Church, 404 Love Avenue, Tifton, GA 31793.