Harry Edward South

Harry Edward South of Savannah, Georgia, finally lost his lifelong battle with gravity and time. You can only cheat death so many times before it calls your bluff. Known affectionately (and sometimes not-so-affectionately) as "Iron Head," he lived a life full of stubbornness, gators, duck hunting, and enough profanity to make a sailor blush. But most importantly, he lived a life full of love and devotion that simply cannot be replicated.

Born in Savannah in 1932, Harry seemed more like one of the city's original settlers with the roots and knowledge he carried. He knew every road and back river in this town. He started South Tile Co. with his father. Their work included the decorative tile surrounding the sundial in Johnson Square in downtown Savannah. He also donated the jawbone of a whale, which you can still see today at Russo's Seafood. When asked where it came from, Harry just shrugged and said, "I did what Captain Ahab never could."

At Benedictine Military School, he made a name for himself as a football player that opposing teams actively tried to avoid. During his junior year, he decided duty to country outweighed graduation and signed up to fight in the Korean War. Declaring his hatred of communists and readiness to don the stars and stripes, he fancied himself a real-life Captain America. In reality, he never carried a shield; he was an airplane mechanic, but he was still regarded as the tipping point that won us the war.

After the war, Harry met Athene Gunter, the love of his life, at Leopold's Ice Cream where she worked as a car hop. He came for the tutti-frutti ice cream but stayed for the woman of his dreams. Together, they built a family and survived 66 years of his antics, an accomplishment deserving of sainthood.

Harry was an avid hunter, most likely responsible for the noticeable decline of the southern Georgia duck population. He wore his run ins with game wardens like badges of honor. Once, when confronted carrying a 4-gauge shotgun (the kind reserved for elephants), he innocently explained he was "just out hunting squirrels." His trophies weren't always fully dead when he brought them home, much to his amusement and the terror of Athene and their children, Julie, Cindy, and Harry Jr. (It's a special kind of childhood when you go to take a shower and find a live gator in the bathtub.)

Harry nearly died more times than can be counted. According to the Savannah Newspaper, at 14, he and a hunting party were stranded in the marsh for several days when their boat engine failed. They survived by eating raw oysters, which Harry considered less a hardship and more a picnic, and he was actually annoyed when rescuers eventually found them.

In the 1950s, Harry turned to bodybuilding, even earning the title of Mr. South East. He credited his success to protein shakes blended with turtle eggs (yes, turtle eggs) and stump-pulling workouts. Surrounded by stumps, he decided to make something of them and became a master woodcarver. He was known for sculpting intricate ducks and waterfowl - probably his way of apologizing to the species he'd spent decades hunting. One of his last carvings remains at the Savannah Wildlife Refuge.

He was also a teacher. When showing his grandson how to drive stick, after a quick ten-minute dirt-road lesson, he decided that they should take on Savannah rush-hour traffic. When the car behind them honked impatiently, Harry calmly brandished his Colt .44 Magnum out the window to remind them that patience is a virtue.

As a Space Camp chaperone for one of his grandchildren in the 1990s, Harry was cast as the pilot in a mock mission. Struggling to find the throttle, he let loose a string of colorful language into the headset, broadcasting live to every child and parent a part of the mission. When he finally found it, his understated "oh" landed like the punchline to a perfect joke.

Savannah has lost a true original - an Alligator Dundee of the South. His love for God, family, friends, and country will live on in every story, every carving, and every terrified gator in the lowcountry.

He is preceded in death by his wife Athene South, brother Leverne South Jr., mother Louise South, and father Laverne "Zip" South Sr.
He is survived by his sister-in-law Berta Gunter, children Cindy Solomons, Julie Mejia, and Harry South Jr., and his grandchildren, Erin Solomons, Phillip Mejia, Caleb Solomons, Kyle South, and Grayson South.

A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, September 3, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at Baker McCullough Funeral Home, Hodgson Memorial Drive (7415 Hodgson Memorial Drive Savannah, GA 31406).

Inurnment will follow in Greenwich Cemetery (330 Greenwich Road Savannah, GA 31404).

Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations in Harry's memory be made to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge to help reestablish the duck populations of southern Georgia.