Neil Little Pruitt Sr.

Neil Little Pruitt, Sr. -TOCCOA - Mr. Neil Little Pruitt, Sr., president and sole owner of the United Health Services., Inc., age 67, of 326 East Doyle Street, Toccoa, passed away Thursday, February 27, 2003 at the Habersham County Medical Center from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident. -A son of the late Ben and Ruth Little Pruitt, he was bon July 21, 1935 in Hart County, Georgia, having lived most of his life in Stephens County. Mr. Pruitt's company, based in Toccoa, Georgia, evolved from a single pharmacy into a multifaceted health care organization with operations in several southeastern states. He was engaged in all phases of the company's operations. -As a registered pharmacist and a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Pharmacy, Mr. Pruitt has played an active role in the pharmacy profession in conjunction with his business career. He served as President, Director and Chairman of the Board of the Georgia Pharmaceutical Association and was currently on the GPHA foundation. -At the national level, Mr. Pruitt has served as the President of the National Association of Retail Druggist (NARD) also known as the National Community Pharmacist Association (NCPA) and President of RxNet, a subsidiary of the NARD, which provides purchasing services to more than 15,000 retail pharmacies throughout the United States. He was also on the NCPA Foundation. -In addition to his many business and professional activities, Mr. Pruitt has participated in a wide range of civic and charitable organizations, include six years on the Toccoa, Georgia City Commission and two years as the Mayor of Toccoa. He served as a Director of the Salvation Army Board. Mr. Pruitt was instrumental in working with the Jaycees to organize the distribution of the polio vaccine in Stephens County, which served as a pilot project of the state and later the nation. He served on the Board of Directors of Hilton Head Presbyterian School and was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Hilton Head, South Carolina. -In recent years, Mr. Pruitt has been very involved with numerous charitable causes. The Pruitt Foundation has provided support to many organizations in Northeast Georgia, including the United Way of Northeast Georgia and the Boy Scouts of America. Always interested in environmental issues, he recently donated to the state of Georgia the use of a portion of Lake Tallulah and more than fifty acres of land for use by the Tallulah Falls State Park. He started the United Hospice Foundation, a not-for-profit corporation. -He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Mrs. Nancy Wilkerson Pruitt of the home; daughter, Janie Paige Pruitt of Macon; daughter and son-in-law: Lisa and Robert Hamby of Martin, GA; son and daughter-in-law: Neil, Jr., and Mebane Pruitt of Atlanta; two grandchildren: Robert "Rob" Edwin Hamby and Eliza Keese Hamby, both of Martin; two brothers and sisters-in-law: Walt and Virginia Pruitt of Lavonia and Boyd and Betty Pruitt of Athens; a sister, Ellen Witlow of Lavonia, GA and a number of nieces and nephews. -Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon, 2P.M. at First Presbyterian Church of Toccoa with the Reverend Bill Nisbet and The Reverend Mark Weaver officiating. -The following gentleman will serve as pallbearers and will please assemble at the Acree-Davis Funeral Home at 1:15P.M. on Sunday: Greg Kesler, Nick Kesler, Chuck Clay, Will Clay, Chris Clay, Mark Randall, Lonnie Holder and Jerry Wright. -The family will be at their respective homes and will receive friends at the Acree-Davis Funeral Home from 4:00 until 7:00P.M. on Saturday, -Flowers are optional and those who desire may give memorials in Mr. Pruitt's memory to The Salvation army, P. O. Box 1094, Toccoa, GA 30577, to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, c/o ALSAC, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105 (Make check payable to the ALSAC) or to the United Hospice Foundation, 3945 Lawrenceville Highway, Lilburn, GA 30047 or to the NCPA Foundation, 205 Dangerfield Road, Alexandria, VA 22314. -Interment will be in The Tallulah Falls United Methodist Church Cemetery, Tallulah Falls, Georgia. -The Acree-Davis Funeral Home, Toccoa, GA, is in charge of the arrangements for Mr. Neil Little Pruitt, Sr.