David Sinclair Quarterman

David Sinclair Quarterman died peacefully in his sleep at home, Tuesday
afternoon, 15 February 2005. He was born on 5 July 1914 in Valdosta,
Georgia to the late David Sinclair Quarterman and Alla Irene Peek
Quarterman. He lived in Lowndes County all of his life. He was a Deacon
and then an Elder in First Presbyterian Church of Valdosta, Georgia.
He would tell stories of walking as a child from brick-paved Varnedoe
Street with his father, who was superintendent of the water works,
to that church, where his father was a Deacon, his mother taught
Sunday School, and his grandfather, Thomas Shepard Quarterman,
was an Elder.

He and his family moved to the family farm in 1921, and they paid it
off during the Depression. He farmed until he retired in the 1980s.
His family learned from Fisher Gaskins how to grow tobacco, but gave it
up in 1941, "because it was so nasty, and because of a moral reason."
He avoided that and other crops that had government subsidies, and he
did most of the farm work himself, working from morning to evening,
usually not even stopping for lunch. He and Perry Fields owned one
combine together; John Deere, of course; he never bought anything else.
He used a six acre plot for experiments with lime and zinc and other crop
supplements, and followed the Tifton Agriculture Experiment Station's
annual report; the cows always seemed to get out on Sunday morning,
but he made a number of record crops of corn and soybeans.

Growing up, he and his sister Elsie would ride their pony Bonnie
to school. Later, he would fetch Bonnie from the fields so Junior
cousin Clark Quarterman and Helen could ride. In 1937 he and his
sisters and cousin Helen and family friend Mary Small drove to the
Pacific and back to see the country. During the 1940s he learned to
fly and for the rest of his life would tell stories of flying all over
Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. He gave it up as his family grew, but
50 years later rented an airplane with an instructor and flew again;
finally last Friday we flew him home.

In his earlier years he was an avid hunter with his dogs; in his later
years he fed hummingbirds. A master mechanic, he installed electrical
generators at the farm on a windmill and a waterwheel before REA came.
He could not pass a car broken down by the side of the road without
stopping to help. He often got called for jury duty during a busy
farming season, but he always took as long as needed to see justice done.
A lifelong reader, he contributed to his family's book of genealogy;
he was a proud son of Midway through his grandfather and Scotland
through his grandmother. He was a graduate of Hahira High School,
and he and his schoolteacher wife sent three sons to college.
He loved music, especially Caruso and Pavarotti tenors and Bob Rutland
fiddle, and he was an amateur on fiddle and mandolin. He made several
very interesting video tapes of wildlife on his farm. He had time to
do more woodworking when he retired and made furniture for his family
and turned a number of wooden bowls and cups with many rings; he loved
to show them to his Sunday school class. He restored old engines and
would travel to shows of them. He photographed flowers, wildlife, trips,
family members, and one spectacular sunset.

He planted many roses for his wife Laura, and they travelled to rose
shows and to visit their children. When she died in the house he and
his father built for her with their own hands, he had written on her
gravestone: She taught people. And on his: He fed people.

He is preceded in death by his parents and his wife of 49 years, Laura Elizabeth
Hargreaves Quarterman and one infant daughter, Nancy Anne Quarterman.

Survivors include two sisters: Mrs. Jane Sinclair Quarterman Comer
M.Ed. of Moultrie, Georgia and Dr. Elsie Quarterman Ph.D. of Nashville,
Tennessee; three sons: David Leon Quarterman and wife Cathy of Athens,
Georgia; Stephen Patrick Quarterman and wife Ann of Nashville, Tennessee;
and John Sinclair Quarterman and wife Gretchen of Austin, Texas;
two grandchildren: Margaret Campbell Quarterman of Charlottesville,
Virginia and David Nicholas Quarterman of Nashville, Tennessee;
step-grandchildren: Lindsey and Mallory Phillips and James, John, and
Adam Linton; and cousins Clark and Muriel Quarterman.

Visitation was held at Music Funeral Services on North Valdosta Road from
9 a.m. until 11 a.m. on Saturday 19 February 2005, followed by Funeral Services at 1:30 P.M. in the First Presbyterian Church, Valdosta Georgia with the Rev. Don Stanley officiating. Burial followed in Sunset Hill Cemetery, Valdosta. Hymns will include "How Great Thou Art," "What A Friend we Have in Jesus," and "Abide with Me." Special musical selections will include "Listen to the Mockingbird," "Over the Waves,"
and "Maggie Mae."

In lieu of flowers, the family requests please make a contribution
to Break Bread Together, Georgia Sheriff's Boys Ranch, American Red Cross,
Hospice, or a charity of your choice.

Music Funeral Services of Valdosta, Ga. is serving the Quarterman family.