William Lowe Sheftall Jr.

William Lowe Sheftall, Jr., April 6, 1922 - June 4, 2005 COLUMBUS, GA — William Lowe Sheftall, Jr., 83, died at his home in Columbus, Georgia, on Saturday morning, June 4, 2005. Funeral services will be held graveside at Riverside Cemetery, Macon, Georgia, on Monday, June 6, 2005, at 11 a.m., with the Rev. Gordon K. Reed of Christ Church, Presbyterian, Augusta, Georgia, officiating. Striffler-Hamby Mortuary is in charge of the arrangements. Mr. Sheftall was born in Macon, Georgia, on April 6, 1922, and grew up there as well as in Dublin, Georgia, and Miami, Florida. He was the only child of Anna LaFae Fargason and William Lowe Sheftall, both of whom died during his teenage years. After graduating from Lanier High School in Macon, he volunteered for service in the Army Air Corps. As a fighter pilot stationed in Italy for 17 months during World War II, he flew 74 missions and was awarded among other honors, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. He was honorably discharged in 1946 with the rank of first lieutenant. After returning home, Mr. Sheftall entered Vanderbilt University and subsequently attended Vanderbilt University School of Law, from which he received his J.D. degree in 1950. He married the former Josephine Banks McKay, a Columbus native, in Macon on April 3, 1951, and the Sheftalls made their home first in Panama City, Florida, and then, for almost forty years, in Macon. There Mr. Sheftall was active in the business community, retiring in 1992 as vice-president of Murphey, Taylor and Ellis and manager of its insurance department. The Sheftalls moved to Columbus in 1996 and have since made their home near their son John and his family in the former guest cottage of The Cedars, Mrs. Sheftall's ancestral home. Mr. Sheftall's paternal ancestors participated in the founding of Georgia in 1733, and he held membership in the Society of the Cincinnati in the State of Georgia as the representative of Col. Mordecai Sheftall, Deputy Commissary General for Issues in Georgia during the American Revolution. His other memberships included the Georgia Historical Society, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Historic Macon Foundation, Historic Columbus Foundation, the Macon Civic Club, the Georgia Association of Independent Insurance Agents (of which he was a past president), Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, and First Presbyterian Church in Macon (of which he was a former Sunday School teacher, deacon, ruling elder, and clerk of the session). In addition to his wife of 54 years, Mr. Sheftall is survived by a son, William Lowe Sheftall, III, and his wife, Carol Harden Sheftall, of Thomasville, Georgia; a son, John McKay Sheftall, and his wife, Lucy Tresp Sheftall, of Columbus; four grandchildren, William Lowe Sheftall, IV, Lucy Banks Sheftall, John McKay Sheftall, Jr., and Andrew Tresp Sheftall; and a step-granddaughter, Mary Beth Dyke of Atlanta, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to a charity of choice.