Jerry Franklin Rutledge

Jerry Franklin Rutledge November 2, 1956 - June 4, 2009 COLUMBUS, GA — Jerry Franklin Rutledge, 52, of Columbus, Ga., died Thursday at St. Francis Hospital. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. on Tuesday, June 9, 2009, at North Highland Assembly of God Church. The Interment Ceremony will be noon CDT Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at Lebanon Cemetery in Silver Run, Ala. Visitation is Monday beginning at noon with the Family Hour from 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home. Mr. Rutledge was born November 2, 1956, in Munford, Ala., to Lillie Bell and Osburn Rutledge Sr. He earned a bachelor's degree from Jacksonville State University. Mr. Rutledge was the prep sports writer for the Ledger-Enquirer. Mr. Rutledge began his journalism career as a sports writer and the sports editor for the campus newspaper at Jacksonville State University. In the early 1980s, Mr. Rutledge was hired by the Anniston Star, where he became one of the first black sportswriters in Alabama. He quickly earned coveted assignments covering Auburn University, the University of Alabama and his alma mater, as well as the Birmingham Stallions of the United States Football League. Hired by the Ledger-Enquirer in the mid-1990s, Mr. Rutledge worked a variety of jobs in Columbus, including military publication editor, assistant sports editor, assistant metro editor and East Alabama reporter. He covered many leaders and wrote many notable stories, perhaps none as well praised as a five-part series on the Tuskegee Airmen, for which he interviewed surviving members of the famed World War II flight group. A year ago, he returned to covering high school sports. Mr. Rutledge's other passions included Alabama Crimson Tide sports, fantasy baseball, and singing in the choir at North Highland Church where he was a tenor. He was preceded in death by his mother, Lillie Bell Rutledge. He is survived by his wife, Carolyn Rutledge; his father, Osburn Rutledge Sr. of Silver Run, Ala.; three brothers, Osburn Rutledge Jr. of Montgomery, Ala., James Marvin Rutledge and Eric Rutledge of Silver Run, Ala.; two sisters, Ida Rutledge Mitchell of Montgomery, Ala. and Mary Lynn Rutledge of Newport News, Va.; a father-in-law, Carl E. Funchess of Hattiesburg, Miss.; three brothers-in-law, Carl Ray Funchess, Fort Myers, Fla., Jerry Funchess, Glastonbury, Conn., and Gregory Funchess of Bradenton, Fla.; six sisters-in-law, Dessie (Harvey) Garrett of Bedford Heights, Ohio, Creola Delaney of Euclid, Ohio, Shirley Scott and Glenda Funchess of Hattiesburg, Miss., Lisa Funchess of Sebring, Fla., and Shelia Watkins of Marietta, Ga.; a nephew, Kenneth Mitchell, a host of aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends. Arrangements entrusted to the staff of Progressive Funeral Home Inc. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to North Highland Assembly of God Fine Arts Department, 7300 Whittlesey Blvd., Columbus, GA 31909.