William Marshall Chastain

Heaven is once again in
concert as William Mar-
shall (Hoss) Chastain
joined his beloved wife,
Sara, in heaven at the side
of our good Lord, on
Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026.
He is now dancing forever
with the love of his life.
Born in Franklin County,
Georgia on Nov. 10, 1928,
he grew up in Toccoa,
Stephens County, Georgia
where he enjoyed all of the
advantages of a small
county town. He graduat-
ed from Eastanollee High
School in 1945. In 1949, he
married Sara Jane Howe.
Sara was a devoted mili-
tary wife and traveled the
world with him to differ-
ent assignments overseas.
One was rarely seen with-
out the other.
He was the son of Rex
Chastain and Ina Bennett
Chastain. Hoss was a lov-
ing husband, father, and
friend wherever his trav-
els took him. The values
that Hoss learned in a
Christian and military
family influenced and
guided him throughout
his life and was a corner-
stone of his character.
He was preceded in
death by his loving wife of
68 years, Sara Jane Howe
Chastain; daughter, Sher-
ry Chastain Segars; and
brother, Harold Chastain.
He is survived by his
daughter; Judy (Donnie)
DeFoor, grandsons; Bran-
don (Taylor) DeFoor, Erik
(Tracy) DeFoor, grand-
daughters; Shannon
(Casey) Johnson, and
Hope (Gabe) Bevers, 14
great-grandchildren; nu-
merous nieces and
nephews; sister; Mozell Is-
bell, and countless friends.
Hoss served in the Unit-
ed States Air Force for 27
years and retired in Dec.
1977. His assignments
were in England, Turkey,
Vietnam, Hawaii, Italy,
Texas, and Georgia, and
had achieved the rank of
Chief Master Sergeant
when he retired. His train-
ing and career were in
computers and military
intelligence surveillance,
mostly at the Air Force
Cryptological Depot in San
Antonio, Texas. Hoss was
stationed at Moody AFB
with duties as computer
superintendent and base
Sergeant Major at time of
retirement.
Some of his awards and
decorations were Republic
of Vietnam Gallantry
Cross with palm, Meritori-
ous Service Award, Air
Force Commendation with
2 OLC, Good Conduct
Medal with 3 loops, Na-
tional Defense Service
medal with 1 star, Viet-
nam Service medal with 3
stars, Republic of Vietnam
Campaign medal, and the
Korean Service medal.
After retirement from
the United States Air
Force, he was an active
participant in his town
and community, and was
of Protestant faith. He and
his family have been ac-
tive members of Toccoa
Christian Church for over
40 years, where he was
elected chairman of the
congregation and trustee,
and he provided funding
for a new fellowship hall.
He was elected to the
Stephens County Soil and
Water Conservation Ser-
vice as supervisor and lat-
er selected as Chairman.
He also worked at Hart
County EMC, did land-
scaping until retirement
in 2010, and was a farmer
invested in produce, most-
ly peanuts and pecans.
For 40 plus years he
brought hundreds of
pounds of shelled pecans
and peanuts to Stephens
County, which were en-
joyed by many. In his later
years, he was on disability
due to exposure to Agent
Orange during his service
in Vietnam.
During this period,
Hoss was a cattle farmer
and member of the Cattle-
man's Association, a mem-
ber of the Georgia Young
Farmers Association, and
was a life member with
Veterans of Foreign Wars,
Disabled American Veter-
ans, as well as a member
of the American Legion.
His was a life well lived as
an example to others.
The family received
friends at the mortuary
from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Feb.
13, 2026.
Funeral services were
held at 11 a.m. Saturday,
Feb. 14, 2026 from the
Chapel of Whitlock Mortu-
ary with minister Gary
Phillips officiating.
Burial followed at
Stephens Memorial Gar-
dens with military honors
provided by the United
States Air Force.
The following gentle-
men served as pallbearers:
Chris Wilson, Casey John-
son, Brandon DeFoor,
Erik DeFoor, Dennis Chas-
tain and Doug Chastain.
In lieu of flowers,
memorial donations may
be made to the Toccoa
Christian Church, 49 Ram-
sey Road, Toccoa, Georgia
30577.
Please keep the family
in your thoughts and
prayers and sign the on-
line guestbook at
www.whitlockmortu-
ary.net.
Whitlock Mortuary, Fu-
nerals and Cremations is
honored to be serving the
family of Mr. William
Marshall (Hoss) Chastain.