Ila Mae Gunnell

Ila Mae Gunnell, age 85 of Dallas formerly of Villa Rica passed away Tuesday, May 12, 2009. Ila Mae was born on January 21, 1924 in the New Georgia Community. Founded shortly after the exodus of the Cherokees, New Georgia was settled largely by the Roberts, Matthews and Hicks clans. As the third child of Bethany Roberts Hicks and Emmett Gordon Hicks she grew up surrounded by a large and loving family as well as a community of caring relatives and close friends. She married Arthur Kelley on May 11th 1940 and kept the home fires burning during World War II while he served in the Pacific Theater. Following the war, like many newly single and widowed women, Ila Mae went to work at the National Biscuit Company in Atlanta to support her two young daughters. As a single young woman, living in Atlanta during the post war years, her time at NABISCO helped her to learn the ways of the city and the ways of the world. After marrying her second husband, Robert L. Gunnell, Jr. in 1952, Ila moved to his family home in the New Hope Community near Dallas and they added to their family with three more children during their years there. They were both active members of the New Hope Community and were tireless fundraisers for the New Hope School and the New Hope Volunteer Fire Department. In 1964, Ila Mae moved to Villa Rica where she started her long and remarkable career at Villa Rica City Hospital, which later became Tanner Medical Center Villa Rica. Over the next 32 years, Ila Mae helped guide the hospital from a small local clinic into a highly respected, first-rate suburban medical center. She served in many roles during her time there, including emergency department nurse, recovery room nurse but most notably she began and subsequently directed the hospitalâ€™s cardio-pulmonary care department which was then one of the first units of its type outside the major Atlanta hospitals. . Of all the facets of her life, those she most valued included the relationship she shared with her sisters, the famous â€œHicks Girlsâ€. Throughout good times and bad, the Hicks Girls were known a ll over Carroll and Paulding Counties for their loving closeness but also their charming rambunctiousness. Ila Mae was also proud of the many friendships she shared with her co-workers at Villa Rica City Hospital, most notably Paulette Butler. The friendship she also shared with Pauletteâ€™s childrenâ€¦â€the Butler Girlsâ€ was a tremendous comfort to all those who felt the pain of Pauletteâ€™s far too early death. Anyone who knew her though, quickly recognized that Ila Maeâ€™s children were her central passion. Throughout her life, no matter what other challenges or burdens she faced, Ila Mae placed the well being of her children before all else. Later, while she respected their educational attainments and appreciated their professional accomplishments, her childrenâ€™s happy and long-term relationships were her greatest joy. Ila Mae was preceded in death by her Mother and Father, her brothers George and Guy, her sisters Sally Fay Huff and Lillie Bee Ingram. She was also preceded in death by her husband and by Oscar Harris, who was a loving friend for many of her later years. She is survived by her children: daughters, Carolyn Maynard (Phil) of Charlotte, North Carolina, Judy McTyre (Gordon) of Dallas, Gail Beard (Rick) of Marietta, Becky King (Jon) of Dallas, and son Terry (Brian McCutcheon) of Phoenix, AZ. She is also survived by two grandchildren Benjamin Beard (Amanda) of Dallas and Beth Fowler (Jack) of Covington, Georgia. She had two great grandchildren who were the light of her life: Carson Robert Beard and Donavan Fowler of Covington. She is survived by her siblings: Irma Ree Carnes, Minnie Lee Brown, Willie Tee Busbin, Lyndal Vee Rainwater, Reba Nell Agan, Maxine Hicks and James Hicks. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews, as well as their children and grandchildren. Ila Mae was baptized at New Georgia Baptist Church in 1939 and remained a lifetime member of that church. She was a proud member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Funeral Services will be conducted Friday, May 15, 2009 at 1 o'clock from New Georgia Baptist Church with Rev. Cindy Blocksidge, Rev. Chad Williams and Mr. Terry Gunnell officiating. Music will be provided by Drew Williams and Eric Ayers. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Thursday from 2 until 4 and 6 until 8 P.M. Interment will follow the service in the church cemetery. Pallbearers are: Roger Brown, Jason Hicks, Perry Hicks,Jason Thurmond "Little Big Mouth", Brian Butler, Mike Whitten. .All former employees of Villa Rica City Hospital are asked to consider themselves an honorary pallbearer. Her long standing sentiment was that â€œjust one red rose will do for me when my time comeâ€. In lieu of flowers, friends and family are asked to make a gift in the amount of their choice to the Ila Mae Gunnell Scholarship Fund at the University of West Georgia, c/o Franklin Pritchett, Alumni House, 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 3011

Ila Mae Gunnell

January 21, 1924 - May 12, 2009