Gladys Bracewell Roberson

Roberson, 85, died Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. She was the daughter of the late James Ira and Maude Bracewell and was the widow of Etheridge Roberson. She was preceded in death by her son, Billy Roberson and daughter, Christine Curry.

A native of Laurens County, she was a homemaker and a member of Sandgrove Baptist Church.

Survivors include her children, Lizzie Hart of Ft. Valley, Janetta Cooper of Macon, Raymond Hilliard and Susan Webb, both of McRae, Peter Hilliard of Jacksonville and Jennifer Roberson of Milan; sister, Maudilee Bedenfield of Rentz; several grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

Vaughn Funeral Home of McRae was in charge of arrangements.

Jack Curry Best Jr.

Best, 65, died Monday, Aug. 16, 2010 at his residence. He was the son of the late Jack Curry and Mary Helen Brown Best Sr. and was married to Grace Courter Best.

Born in Hazlehurst, Oct. 22, 1944 and had lived in South Carolina for the past 38 years before coming from McRae. He was a land developer and consultant. He was the past Worshipful Master of the Hilton Head Masonic Lodge. He was the former Commissioner of the Hilton Head Fire District. He was the former Deputy Wildlife Officer for the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
In addition to his wife, survivors include his son, Curry (Betsy) Best; daughters, Mary Nell (Paul) Weiss of Washington, D.C. and Kelly Best (Brian) Vogel of Atlanta, Ga.; two brothers, George (Denise) Best of McRae, GA and Phil (Cile) Best of Dublin; two sisters, Eleanor Mauldin of McRae, Ga. and Jackie (Benny) Jones of Bluffton, S.C.; four grandchildren, Clay and Ian Weiss, Maggie Best and Maya Vogel.

The family requests memorial donations be made to the McRae Presbyterian Church, 600 W. College St., McRae, Ga., 31055 in memory of Jack and Mary Helen Best Sr.

Sauls Funeral Home of Bluffton, S.C. was in charge of arrangements.

Joseph Edmund Mann

Mann, 86, passed peacefully into heaven Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2010, while surrounded by the love of his family. He was born Oct. 30, 1923, in Lumber City and was the youngest son of Dr. Frank R. Mann Sr. and Zilla Elder Mann. He married the love of his life, Mary Ellen Worster Mann, on Nov. 30, 1944, and they spent 66 wonderful years together. In addition to his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by brothers, Dr. Frank R. Mann Jr., and Robert E. Mann.

He graduated in 1943 from Georgia Tech at age 19 with a degree in mechanical engineering and began work at Y-12 in the “Secret City” as part of the war effort.

In 1946, he entered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Manhattan District, and was involved in work essential to the production of the atomic bomb thereby contributing to the conclusion of WW II. He retired from Martin Marietta in 1984 having worked on development of various nuclear cyclotrons, accelerators, reactors, and the electron microscope.

Mann loved being with his family and spent 47 summers gathering with them at his cabin on Norris Lake. He enjoyed boating, fishing, gardening, designing, building and fixing almost anything. He was a member of Memorial United Methodist Church.

Survivors include his sister, Marjorie Mann Luckey; daughters, Martha M. Miller of Chattanooga, Melinda M. Jones and husband, John Paul Jones Jr., and Mary Jo Mann of Knoxville; grandchildren, John Paul Jones III and wife, Jennifer, Abigail Barnes and husband, Steve, and David Jones, all of Knoxville, Ashley Boardman Miller and partner, Anne Hector, of Atlanta, and Sara Raglan Miller of Nashville; and great-grandchild, Alexandria Mary Barnes.

Memorial donations may be made to Memorial United Methodist Church, Clinton.

Holley-Gamble Funeral Home of Clinton, Tenn., www.holleygamblefh.com, was in charge of arrangements.