Joel Andre Hand, 71, of Omega died Monday, June 27, 2011, at Phoebe-Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 2, 2011, in the Chapel of Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. Rev. William Arnold will officiate with a private burial to be held at a later date. Masons and Shriners will serve as honorary escort. The family will receive friends on Saturday, July 2, 2011, from 10:00 a.m. until the hour of the service at Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mr. Hand was born on January 21, 1940 in Tift County and was the son of Hoyt Madison Hand and Autta Mae Richards Hand, both deceased. He was also preceded in death by one daughter, Melinda Hand; and one brother, Darwin Madison Hand. He was a retired truck driver and was currently employed with the Tift County Board of Education as a school bus driver. He attended Vanceville Congregational Christian Church; was a Mason and a Shriner; and also served in the United States Air Force.
Mr. Hand is survived by one son and daughter-in-law, Kevin and Dorothea Hand of North Carolina; one daughter and son-in-law, Celeste and Jeff Leach of Ohio; and three grandchildren, Kaitlyn Hand, Brian Leach and Kelli McKenzie; and two great-grandchildren, Lillie McKenzie and Abigail Leach.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children, Office of Development, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FL 33607.