George D. Gowder Jr.

1930 - 2017

Died Jan. 11, 2017

Dr. George D. Gowder Jr., passed away peacefully at his home on Jan. 11, 2017, after an extended illness. He was born in 1930, in Gainesville, Ga., to George David Gowder Sr. and Esther Lancaster Gowder. Dr. George, as he was affectionately called, married his sweetheart, Martha Lee Wright, in Gainesville, Ga., on July 11, 1953. They were married almost 52 years when she passed away in 2005.

Dr. George attended undergraduate school at North Georgia College in Dahlonega, medical school at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, and then interned at Georgia Baptist Hospital in Atlanta. Upon finishing there, he joined the United States Air Force where he attained the rank of Captain.

Dr. George moved to Blairsville in 1959 after Sen. Richard Russell secured an early release for him from the Air Force in order to practice medicine in the underserved area of Union County. The county had recently created a hospital authority, and they were in the process of building Union General Hospital. He practiced medicine in Blairsville until 1962, at which time he returned to his hometown in Gainesville to practice for the next 10 years. In 1972, another hospital in Blairsville, known then as Blairsville General, was nearing completion, and Union General was going to be left with no physicians on staff. A group of concerned Union County citizens approached Dr. George about returning to Blairsville to allow Union General to stay open. After much deliberation, he decided to leave his busy Gainesville practice and move with his wife and seven children to Blairsville, where he would be the only practicing physician at Union General. Dr. George worked by himself for two years, essentially seven days a week, 24 hours a day, and in 1975, Dr. James Robertson joined him in practice. In 1976, Blairsville General closed and the Union General Hospital Authority was able to obtain the Blairsville General building, reopening it in 1980 as Union General Hospital. Several years later, he once again found himself in a solo practice and was proud to be joined by his son, G. David Gowder III, M.D. in 1983. He retired in 1986 due to health reasons.

Dr. George was a true "country doc" in that he saw inpatients at the hospital, delivered hundreds of babies, saw patients in the emergency room, took care of nursing home patients, had a busy office practice and still made house calls, often sacrificing precious time with his family. He will be fondly remembered by many people in this surrounding area as a physician who truly loved and was dedicated to his patients.

Dr. George loved to travel, ride motorcycles and spending time with his family. He was a master at telling jokes and stories, and he always had one to fit the occasion. He was a committed Christian who loved his Lord, reading his Bible, and spending many hours at his computer listening to Dr. Adrian Rogers' sermons. He attended the House of Prayer church.

He is survived by his seven children; daughter and son-in-law, Anne and Phil Patton; daughter, Lou Harkins; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. David and Lita Gowder; son and daughter-in-law, Dr. Mike and Gail Gowder, all of Blairsville; daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Joel Huggins of Nashville, Tenn.; son and daughter-in-law, the Rev. Bill and Becky Gowder of Friendsville, Tenn.; daughter and son-in-law, Becky and Steven Gooch, also of Blairsville; sister, Virginia Sloan, of Gainesville, Ga., as well as 23 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held Saturday, Jan. 14, at the House of Prayer Church in Blairsville at 11 a.m. with the Rev. Bill Gowder and the Rev. Stacy Dyer officiating. A eulogy will be given by Dr. David Gowder. Music will be provided by Bryan Sosensky and Lita Gowder. Grandsons will serve as pallbearers. The family will meet with friends at the church from 9-11 a.m. He will be interred at the House of Prayer cemetery next to his beloved Martha.