Funeral services for Elsie Gaines Paul, 95, of Bainbridge, were held Friday, April 17, at First African Baptist Church with the Revs. Dr. A.L. Thompson, Adolph Noble and Joe W. Sweet Jr. officiating.

Interment followed at Pine Grove Burial Society Cemetery in Fowlstown with cousins and friends of the family serving as active pallbearers.

Mrs. Paul was born April 11, 1914, in Decatur County. She died on Monday, April 13, 2009, at Memorial Hospital and Manor.

Mrs. Gaines was a lifelong resident of Decatur County and was a retired elementary school teacher and principal. She was a member of the First African Baptist Church of Bainbridge and of the Pride of Bainbridge, Order of the Eastern Star Chapter No. 479, Retired Teachers Association and Citywide Mission.

Preceding hear in death was her husband, Nathan Paul.

Survivors include her sister, Ruth Gaines Bonner of New York, N.Y.; two god-daughters, Betty Washington of Thomasville, Ga., and Louise Close of Bainbridge; other nieces, nephews, cousins and special caregivers.

Chandler’s Funeral Home was in charge of funeral arrangements.