Mr. William Franklin Kirksey Sr.

Mr. William Franklin Kirksey, Sr., 80, of Sylvester GA, departed peacefully from this life on Friday, June 19th, 2020 at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, GA. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM on Monday, June 22, 2020 at Banks Funeral Home Chapel, interment will follow in the Hillcrest Cemetery. The Rev. Kevin Johnson will officiate. Mr. Kirksey was born to the parents of William Warren & Bertha Kirksey on July 16, in 1939 in Baker County in the city of Demascus. His life was exemplified through the labors of his hard work, which began as becoming a highly regarded ranch hand and tending horses at Fort Gaines, GA and a mere few short years later establish himself as the owner operator and construction engineer foreman of Kirksey Construction Company. A career which spanned the course of over three decades while continuously providing dedicated service to his local community with steadfast loyalty and pride. In addition to working throughout his life to provide for his family Mr. Kirksey was a loyal husband to his wife Mrs. Patricia Kirksey for over 58 years, they were a great team supporting each other in every way. Even while facing the turmoil and grief of her lengthy illness before her departure from this life his sacrifice and loyalty never wavered continuing his unyielding love while never leaving her side. Throughout his years he provided compassion and charity to the (PruittHealth of Sylvester) and bestowed the fruits reaped of his harvest on the family land to the local community unceasingly. We as a family are so incredibly grateful and happy and blessed to have had him in our lives. He was hard working, compassionate towards everyone, his attention to detail and perfectionism was infectious. He was never a man of many words, he expressed his love through his actions. You could always tell when he was moved by something and it was usually when he was particularly proud of his family. He was a humble man born in a different era with traditional values of a time past. It was a time when contracts were signed by a handshake which was all that was required in order put faith and trust in the value of a man's word. A time when honor and family were merged with tradition, merit and integrity. His paradise was here on earth with his family. Today he would certainly have shed a few tears to see how many of his family and friends have turned up to celebrate his wonderful life. He would also have been very surprised, as he was a very humble man, and we are incredibly blessed to have had him as our Dad, husband, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend. We hope that through this together we can find strength from his examples. The rarity of the man we come to celebrate today was his generosity. He gave more to people than people gave to him. He was tenacious, ferocious, focused, and fueled by a need to be his own man, which he accomplished in countless ways until the very end. To him the decisions were final without retort. We were all blessed to have the seeds of his wisdom sown throughout the generations of our family. He was a force of nature, a storm of a man. In his path, things moved. Nothing stayed still. He was persevering, and devoted and dedicated to the belief that something good was just about to happen if only you worked hard enough to make it so. Mr. William, Franklin Kirksey I am happy to say, was perfectly himself a laborer, a teacher, a man of integrity, and for that our family will forever remain grateful. Survivors include three daughters, Tawanna Kirksey (Ronald Alvarez) Katrina "Regina" Cooper and Glenda Runyon (SSG Don Runyon) Son, Gunnery Sergeant (Ret.) William Franklin Kirksey Jr. (Jacqueline); grandchildren, John Eubanks (Amber), Marlena Tillery (5/8), Danielle Hurst (Blake) Deedre Lewis (Tec. Sgt. Robert), Cameron Bozeman, Chad Ricks, Kaleb Kirksey, Hannah Kirksey, Destiny West; great-grandchildren, Jonah and Craig Eubanks, Aidyn Hurst and Leland Cooper, Robert Lewis and Johnathan Kersey, Brianna Kersey and Haley Kersey. The Family will receive Friends on Monday from 1:00 PM until the service hour at Banks Funeral Home. Please sign our online guest registry at www.banksfh.com Banks Funeral Home in Sylvester is in charge of local arrangements. Banks Funeral Home P.O. Box 550 Sylvester, GA 31791 229-776-2055 Phone 229-776-5400 Fax www.banksfh.com

Mr. William Franklin Kirksey Sr.

July 16, 1939 - June 19, 2020