Dr. Carl Gilbert Renfroe

Family-Placed Death Notice

DR. CARL GILBERT RENFROE Died Sunday, March 21st, 2004 at the age of 93. He is survived by his three daughter, Anne Hughes of Decatur, Jean Eickhoff and son-in-law, Jerry Eickhoff of Decatur, Sue Tetterton and son-in-law Frank Tetterton of Lawrenceville, GA; granddaughters, Kelly Holyoak of Decatur, Kim Eickhoff of Denver, CO, and Ashley Tetterton of Lawrenceville, GA; grandsons, Matt Hughes of Berea, KY, Brent Eickhoff of Decatur, and Alex Tetterton of Lawrenceville, GA; and two great grandsons, Christian and Shane Holyoak of Decatur. Also surviving is Dr. Renfroe's 96-year-old brother, Linton B. Renfroe of Naugatuck, Conn. Dr. Renfroe was the second of three children born to Lucy Roberts and Judge John Linton Renfroe of Statesboro, on July 5, 1910. He later married his adoring wife, Mae Robertson, of Waycross, GA on June 21, 1940. After 62 years of a wonderful marriage, Mae passed away in August of 2002. He graduated from Emory University in 1931 with a B.S. in Chemistry and received a Master's Degree in School Administration from Duke University in 1937. At Duke, he was selected as a member of Kappa Delta Pi, a national scholarship society. In June of 1964 he received an earned Doctorate from the University of Georgia. He served four years in the U.S. Navy in World War II, spending most of the time in the Pacific area with the Amphibious Forces. He was released with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. Dr. Renfroe was in school work since 1931. He served as Principal of Vidalia High School for three years, Principal of Fitzgerald High School for two years, Principal of Griffin High School for four years, and Superintendent of Waynesboro City Schools for seven years before coming to Decatur High School as Principal in 1953. In 1959 he became Superintendent of Decatur City Schools. After forty-four years in public school work, Dr. Renfroe retired in June of 1975 with the new Renfroe Middle School being named in his honor. He served as State Secretary of the Georgia High School Principal Association in 1940, and in 1941 was elected president of the state organization. In 1956 he was elected State President of the Georgia Association of School Administrators. He later served for two years as Chairman of the Atlanta Area School Superintendents. In addition to school organizations he served as a Director of the Decatur-DeKalb Y.M.C.A., the DeKalb County Library Board, and the American Red Cross. He also served on the Advisory Board for the DeKalb County Juvenile Court. Dr. Renfroe was appointed to the Governor's Staff, both by Governor Carl Sanders and by Governor Jimmy Carter. He was a devoted member of the Decatur Rotary Club for approximately 33 years and was recently honored as a lifetime member. For ten years he served on the DeKalb County Merit Council with extreme dedication, as he did on the Board of the Stone Mountain Railroad. Dr. Renfroe was a long-standing member of the Keystone Bible Class of Decatur First United Methodist Church. He has been a steward and a devoted Sunday school teacher in the church for forty years, and was Chairman of the Official Board for a two-year term. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, March 24th, at 2:00 p.m. at Decatur First United Methodist Church, Dr. Bevel Jones and Rev. James Styles officiating. Interment is at Decatur Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Carl and Mae Renfroe Memorial Scholarship Fund, in care of the Decatur Education Foundation, 320 North McDonough Street, Decatur, GA 30030. The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday evening at A. S. Turner & Sons.