Sept. 26, 1926 –

Sept. 25, 2011

The funeral service for James E. “Gene” Ohlinger, 84, of Bainbridge, will be held at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011, at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Isaiah Mejia officiating and will conclude at the chapel. Interment will be at Roselawn Memory Gardens. The Baraca Sunday School Class will serve as honorary pallbearers.

The family will receive friends at the chapel following the service.

Mr. Ohlinger was born Sept. 26, 1926, in Detroit, Mich., the son of Donald Burton Ohlinger and Mamie Walker Ohlinger. He passed away Sunday, Sept. 25, 2011, at Memorial Hospital. He was a graduate of Bainbridge High School, was a member of the band, Boy Scouts of America, and the Hi-Y. After graduation, he attended Georgia Tech and Georgia Southwestern College. Mr. Ohlinger was a veteran of the U.S. Navy, serving during World War II. He was a Navy Seal and was involved in rescue missions after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which helped bring the war to a close. After active duty, he served as a sergeant in the reserves. Mr. Ohlinger was the chief of Port St. Joe’s Volunteer Fire Department. In Bainbridge, he worked at Engelhard, was the owner and operator of Ohlinger Radio and T.V. Repair, and was a real estate agent. He was a member of First Baptist Church and the Baraca Sunday School Class.

Survivors include his wife of 63 years, Jeanne Phillips Ohlinger of Bainbridge; his daughters, Florence Braswell and her husband, Julian, of Bainbridge, Janet Ohlinger-Mejia and her husband, Rev. Isaiah, of Bainbridge, and Sallie (Genia) Johnson and her husband, Randy, of Seattle, Wash.; his grandchildren, Mary Kathryn Mejia, Jon D. Ohlinger Mejia and his wife, Kathryn Ann, Scott Randall Johnson and his wife, Stephanie, and Michael Andrew Johnson; his great-grandson, Conner Johnson; his special niece and nephew, Carla Stewart, and Vic Stewart; and his great-niece, Ansley Stewart.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Cancer Society, 101 W. Water St., Bainbridge, GA 39817.

Ivey Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.