Genolia Cleveland

1921 - 2021

CLEVELAND, Genolia "Ginny"

Genolia "Ginny" Cleveland passed away at her home, Canterbury Court, Atlanta, GA on August 26, 2021. Ginny was born to parents, Charles Preston and Kate F. Mylum on May 3, l921 in Rice, a suburb of Farmville, VA. She was preceded in death by her husband, James Russell Cleveland, Sr. who passed away on November 26, 2012. They celebrated 57 years of a devoted and loving marriage.

Ginny was a graduate of Worsham High School and received a diploma from Smithdeal Massey Business College, in Richmond. Her first job was with the prestigious Schwarzchild Jewelers, in their business office, in Richmond. Later, as World War II wore on, she was employed by the Selective Service System where she worked until the war ended. In the late forties she acquired the job she had dreamed of since childhood, that of becoming a private secretary. She went to work for the Hunt Foods Corporation in their executive offices and later for the Department of Entomology and Plant Quarantine; an excellent job, but she decided working with green houses and plant diseases was not her field. She applied for a position with the Air Force and was accepted working in the Personnel Department. This was one of her most esteemed and treasured jobs. In the early fifties, she transferred to the Orlando (McCoy) Air Force base offices. It was here that she met her husband, Jimmy, on a blind date. She married, changed her career to become a fulltime wife, mom and homemaker. Her love, devotion and commitment to her new family became the most rewarding and fulfilling years of her life.

In 1970 Ginny and Jimmy left their home in Fulton County and moved to East Cobb County in the Atlanta Country Club subdivision. She was a member of the Atlanta Country Club Ladies' Golf Association and the Chattahoochee Ladies Association. She was a member of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church and the Ladies of Faith Sunday School Class.

Surviving is a son, James R. Cleveland Jr. of Atlanta and a daughter, Carol Cleveland Harbour (George) of Canton GA, a devoted niece, Dennis Young of Richmond, VA, 6 grandchildren in Atlanta and Birmingham, AL, 14 great grandchildren, 1 great-great-grandson, and in the Richmond VA, area are 4 nieces, 1 nephew, several great-nieces and nephews.

Ginny will be missed by all who knew her. She was a people's person who had a warm and captivating smile and in many of the offices where she worked, she was called "sunshine".

A Memorial Service for Genolia Cleveland will be held on Saturday, September 18 at Johnson Ferry Baptist Church Chapel, Marietta, at 11:00 AM.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Right From The Heart Ministries, 1507 Johnson Ferry Rd, STE 100, Marietta, GA 30062.