Jerry Franklin Hancock

Jerry Franklin Hancock passed on peacefully at his home in Boston, Georgia on Thursday, August 24, 2023 at the mighty age of 87. Jerry was born at home in Auburndale, Florida on May 13, 1936, but moved to his lifelong home of Boston, Georgia in 1942. There, he met the love of his life, Dawn, in the second grade, and the two remained close throughout their childhood and into their teens. When talking about his childhood, he often spoke about how much he worked: planting citrus trees in Florida, harvesting peanuts and cotton in the fall heat, even driving a delivery truck to Atlanta and back at the age of 15, accompanied by his future wife. He often spoke of his memories of a bygone era: riding his horse, Danpatch, to school in the mornings, serving "sweetwater" (water flavored by cane syrup) to farmhands, playing basketball at Boston High School, and setting up barbed wire fences out of a mule-drawn wagon.
His adulthood began in the Navy, going through basic training in San Diego, California before being stationed as a radar technician on the USS Douglas Monroe. After deployment, he returned to Boston and rekindled his relationship with his highschool sweetheart, and the two married on July 3, 1960 at the Boston Methodist Church. He continued to work in agriculture before switching to open a Ford Tractor Company, but ultimately finished his career in banking. His life gave him an appreciation of the value of work, but he didn't let it overtake the importance of his family. Between 1962 and 1970, he had four sons and became a devoted and dutiful Dad.
He was also a mighty man of faith, being a firm believer in the love of God and the importance of Jesus' message. His spiritual journey evolved throughout his life as his faith and study deepened, changing denominations from his childhood Baptist to Presbyterian before co-founding New Covenant Church with his home group. He served there for four decades as a deacon, elder, and treasurer, and became a beloved and dependable figure in the body that was known for being kind, wise, and helpful.
He is survived by his wife, Dawn Hancock, his sons, Jerry (Valerie) Hancock II, Willett "Bill" (Candace) Hancock Sr., Robert (Michelle) Hancock Sr., and James (Pamela) Hancock, grandchildren, Emily (Caleb) Brogan, Virginia (Charlie) Hancock, Bobby Hancock, Willett Hancock Jr., and Isabella Hancock, and great grandchildren, Emberlynn and Mckynlee, as well as his sister Betty Farlow, and her children and grandchildren.
Everyone who knew him was better for it, and he was greatly loved. He will be laid to rest at the Boston Cemetery on August 27, 2023, near his parents and parents-in-law.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Jude Hospital, https://www.stjude.org/donate/prospects-tssl.html?frequency_selected=0&sc_icid=impactgiving-donate-bttn-top or Tunnels to Towers, https://t2t.org/donate/