Oct. 1, 1929 –

March 1, 2012

Services for Eldron Vance Whigham, 82, of Cairo, Ga., were held on Saturday, March 3, 2012, at Pine Level Baptist Church in Cairo. Active pallbearers were Drew Whigham, Connor Whigham, W. L. Maddox, Terry Whigham, Mike Giddings and Bobby Godwin. Interment was private.

Mr. Whigham was born on Oct. 1, 1929, at the family home in rural Grady County. He died Thursday, March 1, 2012, at his home. He was the 11th of 12 children born to the late Walter A. and Mary Lou Pipkin Whigham.

He attended Live Oak School in Grady County and graduated from Cairo High School in 1946. He served in the U.S. Army at Fort Sill Oklahoma before receiving an honorable discharge in 1949 for family hardship. He married on April 25, 1954. He was an active member of Pine Level Baptist Church since the age of 13 and began serving as a deacon at the age of 24. He served as trustee at the church for a number of years and also served as a trustee of Shiver Elementary School when his children attended the school. He was devoted to his wife and family.

He was a farmer who loved the land and his work. He was active on the family farm through December 2011, when his health began to decline. He enjoyed sharing fruits and vegetables from the farm with neighbors and friends. In 1971, he was named Man of the Year in Conservation, and in the early 1980s, he and his son were named Soil and Water Conservationists of the Year. In 1982, his family was named Farm Family of the Year by the Cairo-Grady County Chamber of Commerce.

Siblings who preceded him in death were Lawson Whigham, Clara Maddox, Virgil Whigham, Judson Whigham, Gertrude Giddings, Millie Kelly, Elvet Gerald Whigham and Lavonia Harris.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Christine Knight Whigham; his son, Mark and Meg Whigham of Cairo; daughter, Jill and Jerry Jones of Climax; grandchildren, Emmaree Whigham, Drew Whigham, and Connor Whigham, all of Cairo, Jan Jones, Joy Jones, and Jerilyn Jones, all of Climax; sisters, Lavelle Kimbrel of Panama City, Fla. and Geraldine and Troy Sheffield of San Antonio, Texas; sister-in-law, Rosa Whigham, of Whigham, Ga.; and brother-in-law, Bob Harris of Atlanta, Ga.

Memorials may be made to the Lewis Hall Singletary Oncology Center, in care of the Archbold Foundation, 910 South Broad, Thomasville, GA, or the charity of your choice.

Clark Funeral Home of Cairo was in charge of arrangements.