Charles Francis Douglas, 88, passed away on Monday, October 22, 2018 at Pruitt Health Magnolia Manor in Moultrie. Funeral services will be held Wednesday, October 24th at 2:00 p.m. in First United Methodist Church of Tifton with Rev. Chip Grantham and Rev.
Stephen Grantham officiating. Interment will follow in Tift Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 12:30 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. at First United Methodist Church before the funeral services.
Greg Thomas, Chip Blalock, Charles Gruver, Benji Baldree, Ken Spurlin, Joe West and Jerry Tillman will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be Frank McGill, Don Sumner and Tifton’s Lions Club. Dr. Douglas was born July 16, 1930 in Tucson, Arizona to the late John Francis Douglas and Viva Leona Crum Douglas.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, Eldine Webster. He was married to Betty Jean Morris Douglas for sixty-six years. He grew up in Farina, Il and lived with his great aunt and uncle, Margaret and Frank Smith.
He spent summers with his grandparents, Phebe and John Crum near Iola, Il. There, he learned to farm using a team of horses and equipment from the 1800’s. He graduated from LaGrove Community High School, Farina, Il.
He earned an Assoc. Degree in Agriculture from Eastern Illinois State College, Charleston, Il. He held the rank of Staff Sargent as a Communicators Security Analyst in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Canada and received an honorable discharged.
He received his BS and MS in Agronomy with a minor in botany from University of Illinois, Champaign, Il and earned his PhD in Agronomy with minors in Botany and Ag Economics from Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN. He worked with the Tennessee Valley Authority in Florence, Al as a consultant to farmers, agricultural universities, and the fertilizer industry in the corn belt and became the N.E. US Director, Div. Chemistry and Agriculture in West Lafayette, IN.
Dr. Douglas was Dept. of Agronomy Head at the University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station in Tifton, GA, Research Professor, Professor Emeritus, and Outreach Specialist at the UGA Tifton Campus. He assisted in Sunbelt Agricultural Exposition formation and helped lead Field Days Demonstrations, conducted public relations for the media, and supervised VIP Tours for forty years.
In 2016 he was honored to received the UGA Tifton Campus Ambassador Award. He was active in the Tifton Lions and Toastmasters Clubs, the American Society of Agronomy, and served others through numerous ministries in Tifton. Dr. Douglas was a member of First United Methodist Church of Tifton.
To read more about Dr. Douglas, use this link, bit. ly/2NWK1zD. In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters and sons-in-law, Sheri and Stephen Grantham of Moultrie, Sandi and Glenn Edgemon of West Richland, Washington; two grandchildren, Sarah and John Inzetta and Rebecca and Matthew Gruver; one sister and brother-in-law, Rita Drobny and Harvey Hamrick; his aunt, Margaret Crum Pruitt of Tigard, Oregon; and a number of nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Sunbelt Ag Expo, 290-G Harper Blvd. , Moultrie, GA 31788; CAES Student Enrichment Fund Tifton Campus UGA, Assistant Dean’s Office, 2360 Rainwater Road, Tifton, GA 31793 or tinyurl.com/UGATift; Wesley Glen Ministries, 4580 N. Mumford Rd. , Macon, GA 31210; or First United Methodist Church of Tifton, 107 12th St W, Tifton, GA 31794.
Albritton Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.
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