Ruby Louise Pirkle

1937 - 2024

Ruby Louise Hammond Pirkle, 87, of Waycross died Thursday afternoon, February 15, 2024, at Memorial Satilla Health after a brief illness. She was born on February 10, 1937 in Forsyth County, GA to the late Lee and Eldie Holtzclaw Hammond. Mrs. Pirkle was married to the love of her life in 1954, and they moved their family to Waycross in 1971. She is remembered as an extraordinary cook, especially for her scrumptious pies and homemade biscuits and jelly. She was a prayer warrior, and everyone who knew her valued her counsel. She was a member of Central Baptist Church and a former Sunday school teacher. She supported her husband in pastoral and mission work in the Waycross area. Together, they raised their children with love, laughter, and discipline, and guided them by word and by example to know and serve the Lord. Her favorite scripture verse was Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Along with her parents she was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Lee Grant Pirkle; two daughters, Dolores Pirkle Stipe and Lisa Darlene Pirkle; an infant son, Marcus Allen Pirkle; four brothers, Cleburn Hammond, Robert Hammond, Hugh Hammond, and Steve Hammond; three sisters, Vileeaze Butterworth, Barbara Milford, and Patricia Francis.
Survivors include four children, Philip Pirkle (wife Sharon) of Thomson, GA, Denise Pirkle Bennett of Waycross, GA, Thomas Pirkle (wife Jodi) of Valdosta, GA and John Pirkle (wife Tammy) of Waycross; thirteen grandchildren, Brad and Natalie Pirkle, Amy and Jamey Grimes, Sara Pirkle, Jenny Pirkle, Andrew and Stephanie Bennett, Timothy and Alex Bennett, Amanda and Andrew Blaylock, Steven and Christine Stipe, Grant Pirkle, Callie Pirkle, Joey and Sunni Morgan, Jessica and Brantley Crews, and Amaris and Hunter Cox; eighteen great-grandchildren; two brothers, Jim Hammond (wife Jean) of Gainesville, GA, and Kenneth Hammond (wife Wanoga) of Indiana; two sisters, Mary Pirkle (husband Donald) of Cumming, GA, and Diane Buice of Dahlonega, GA; numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A funeral service will be held Saturday, February 24, 2024, at 2 pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home 2030 Memorial Park Rd. Gainesville, GA, 30504. The family will receive friends beginning at 1 pm on Saturday at Memorial Park Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Memorial Park Cemetery in Gainesville, GA.
The family would like to express their appreciation to Hospice Satilla, Baptist Village, and Satilla Memorial Hospital in Waycross, GA for the care and love they shared with their mother and the family during this time.
Sympathy may be expressed online at www.milesodumfuneralhome.com.
Miles-Odum Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements