John Kilgore, Jr.

John Clifford Kilgore, Jr.

Stapleton, GA  –         John Clifford Kilgore, Jr., 95, loving husband of the late Edna Louise Attaway Kilgore, entered into his eternal rest Wednesday morning, November 22, 2017 at his residence. Funeral services will be held in the Stapleton United Methodist Church at 2:00 P.M. Sunday afternoon, November 26, 2017, with the Reverends Sam Collins and Stan Littleton officiating. Interment will follow in the Stapleton Memorial Gardens cemetery.

One of two sons born to the late Mary Alice Sanders Kilgore and the late John Clifford Kilgore, John was a lifelong resident of Stapleton. He accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior at the age of twelve and joined the fellowship of Stapleton United Methodist Church. After graduating from Stapleton High School where he was active in sports, he attended Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton for two years before graduating from the University of George in 1943.  A proud patriot, John served his country in the United States military during World War II.  Upon his return home in the late 1940s, he worked with his father at the Bank of Stapleton, retiring from the bank as President in 1996.

A befitting excerpt from a letter of recommendation written in 1942 was found in his papers which fully describes the man John was at the age of 21 and continued to be throughout his life: “His character is of the quality that rises above the average and expresses itself through many varied avenues of living.  Honesty, truthfulness, friendliness, sincerity and ambition are not qualities of character which he longs to achieve, but are already possessions of his.  In our modern scientific world of combinations of complexities a young man needs to possess the quality of adaptability.  This is becoming increasingly a part of John’s equipment for life. His sensitiveness to responsibility and duty will always serve in his life as great dynamos of power to aid in the realization of his goals in life. Certainly, no recommendation of John’s would be complete without emphasizing the fact that industry is a very obvious characteristic of his.  He works because he is ambitious and desires to achieve.”

From his writings after his beloved wife died, John himself expressed the key to his life: “It is normal to be sad and feel sorry for yourself once in a while—but only for a few moments. What is important and necessary is to love and enjoy your family, your friends, your work and every day of life. Throughout all of life, the one element that is present and is the ultimate bulwark of good life is FAITH! When all else fails, there is Faith.  Fight a good fight and keep the Faith.”

John loved his Lord, his family, his church, his community and his country. He served each to the best of his ability and lived his life as an impeccable example of faithfulness, honesty, sincerity, and integrity.

John is also preceded in death by his brother, James Jackson Kilgore of Columbia SC. Survivors  include his two daughters, Lydia Ann Breedlove of Atlanta, and Mary Kilgore Houston (Tennent) of Augusta; eight grandchildren, John Kilgore Breedlove (Kasey), James William Breedlove (Katurah), Charles Jackson Breedlove, all of Atlanta, William Tennent Houston Jr. (Laura) of Charlotte NC, Alice Houston Miles (Brock) of Raleigh NC, Margaret Byne Houston of Charleston SC, Charles Gordon Houston II of Charlotte NC, and Elizabeth Tennent Houston of New Orleans LA; five great grandchildren, Charlotte Meadow Breedlove, James William Breedlove II, Angelica Maude Breedlove, Evelyn James Houston and Mary Wallace Miles; and an aunt, Ruth Kirby Sanders of Decatur. Pallbearers will be his five grandsons and James Sheppard.

Heartfelt thanks and gratitude are extended to Lisa Strickland and Wanda Kelly, his care-givers, for their loving, compassionate care.

The family will receive friends at James Funeral Home from 3:00–5:00 P.M. Saturday afternoon, November 25, 2017.