Fischer Funeral Care

Christopher Shawn Holaway died peacefully on November 19, 2023, following a courageous battle with cancer. He was born on August 22, 1971 in Decatur, Alabama, and was raised by two caring parents, Roger and Juanita Holaway. The first in his family to attend college, Shawn earned his B.S. in biology from the University of Alabama-Birmingham; his B.S. in Pharmacy from Auburn University, and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Florida. Prior to his death, he served on the clinical faculty at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and the Morehouse College of Medicine. Shawn was an avid sports fan and followed the Florida Gators, Georgia Bulldogs, and Auburn...

Sarah Eugenia Mallas Wayman, of Dunwoody, fell asleep in death on Sunday, October 29th, 2023. Born in Fulton County, Atlanta, GA, she is the daughter of Nicholas Andreas and Eugenia Panaritis Mallas (formerly Malalas), immigrants and natives of Argos, Greece. Sarah was a hospitable and gregarious woman who found much joy in presenting, talking, teaching, reading, and writing. Baptized at eight years of age as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, she cherished her spiritual life and activities faithfully until her death. She taught her children the best guidebook in life, the Bible. She attended Hoke Smith Grammar School, Roosevelt High, graduating as a valedictorian, Georgia State University,...

Karen "Dolly" Malmquist Russell died peacefully on July 5, 2023 at her home in Dunwoody, Georgia; she was 89. Born Karen Ray Malmquist on Nov. 14, 1933, she grew up the daughter of O.N. Malmquist, political editor at The Salt Lake Tribune, and Florence Lucille Ray, a former teacher who was active in Salt Lake civic organizations. Karen's siblings were her twin brother Newland and her younger brother David. Dave called her "the smartest person in the class, grade school to high school. She was always a class officer and a leader." After graduating from East High School, she attended the University of Utah. In 1954, she married William Richard "Rich" Russell, a pilot in the Air Force. Their...

Jerry Barden Attkisson, 81, died peacefully on Sunday, July 2, 2023, in hospice at Vernon Springs Senior Living in Atlanta. He had long suffered from depression which dramatically worsened over the past 10 years and eventually led to his physical decline. Jerry was born on November 30, 1941, to Marguerite and Pete Attkisson. He spent his childhood in south Richmond, VA, where he loved shopping at the Army surplus store and playing soldier in the woods with his almost-twin brother. In the early 1950s, the family moved to Kinston, NC, where Jerry attended Grainger High School and graduated as president of the student body. His summers were spent boating on the Neuse River and as a counselor at...

Martha Cleland Gregory, loving wife, mother, and grandmother passed away on Monday, June 26, 2023, at the age of 87 with her family by her side. Martha was an Atlanta native, born to Thomas Cleland and Mary Gibson on April 19, 1936. She grew up in the Chamblee and Morningside neighborhoods, where she played basketball, graduated from Grady High School and met the love of her life, her husband of 61 years, James Edward (Ed) Gregory (predeceased). She later graduated from The Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville with a degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation from college, Martha began her 31-year career teaching Business Education in Cobb County at both Wheeler and...

Dorothy Mae Lee Davis Hickox Hall, age 83, of Okeechobee, Florida, passed away Friday, June 16, 2023, at Okeechobee Healthcare Facility surrounded by her loving family. She was born on August 19, 1939, in Winokur, GA, to Elemuel Jackson Lee and Betty Irene Hendrix Lee. She lived most of her life in Hickox/Winokur, Georgia, before moving to Okeechobee with her husband, Charles. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Her sweet demeanor was most cherished by her family. She enjoyed working, gardening, crossword puzzles, cooking, and most of all, spending time surrounded by her family. She was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands, Earnest W. Davis...

Dorothy Mae Lee Davis Hickox Hall, age 83, of Okeechobee, Florida, passed away Friday, June 16, 2023, at Okeechobee Healthcare Facility surrounded by her loving family. She was born on August 19, 1939, in Winokur, GA, to Elemuel Jackson Lee and Betty Irene Hendrix Lee. She lived most of her life in Hickox/Winokur, Georgia, before moving to Okeechobee with her husband, Charles. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Her sweet demeanor was most cherished by her family. She enjoyed working, gardening, crossword puzzles, cooking, and most of all, spending time surrounded by her family. She was preceded in death by her parents, two husbands, Earnest W. Davis...

Calvin Leonard Engstrom died peacefully at home, surrounded by his wife and children on May 31, 2023, at the age of 74 in Atlanta, GA. He was born on April 29, 1949, in Minneapolis, MN, to Fay Dell Brasher and Leonard Morris Engstrom, both of whom preceded him in death. As the son of an Air Force Chaplain, he spent his childhood all over the world, with notable memories in Alaska, the Dakotas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Scotland, and Italy. Cal is survived by his wife, Kathleen Flanagan Engstrom, his son Ian Christopher Engstrom, his daughters Emily Engstrom, Rachel Engstrom Hallum, and Maureen Engstrom Starnes, and his twelve grandchildren: Heather, Hannah, Peter, Ben, Kate, Molly,...

Mary Ann Minnich DeFoor, 72 died peacefully on April 22, 2023. Mary Ann was a native of Atlanta and the daughter of Dr. Fredric R. Minnich and Katherine Calhoun Minnich. She was widowed by her late husband Lenard Mercer DeFoor in June 2021. She is survived by her two step sons Wesley S. DeFoor (Heather) with their three children Morgan, Courtney and Whitney and Clayton Early DeFoor and his son Hayes. Mary Ann and Len were happily married for 49 years. Mary Ann is also survived by her brother Fred Minnich (Susie) and her brother in law John McNeil (Katherine-deceased) and five nieces and nephews who meant very much to her. Mary Ann attended The Lovett School in 1969 and Stratford to...

William R. Barrett, 77, of Atlanta, GA and formerly of Cincinnati, passed away on April 19, 2023 after a long and valiant battle with congestive heart disease. Bill was born to George K. and Virginia Barrett in Findlay, OH. He graduated Findlay High School and earned a Bachelor's Degree from Wittenberg University. Bill then served in the Peace Corps, Western Samoa, for 2 years. Bill received his Master's Degree from Ohio University's Sports Administration Program, in the initial start of the program. After an internship with the Cincinnati Royals, Bill was hired by Ticketron to set up Cincinnati. Bill was the first employee hired by Riverfront Coliseum (Heritage Bank Arena). While there he...

Hon. Deborah C. Benefield, retired Clayton County Superior Court Judge and Atlanta native, died early in the morning on April 7, 2023 at the age of 66 in the comfort of her home. Deborah is survived by her daughter, Maggie Galbraith, her son-in-law Andrew Galbraith, her grandchildren Allison and Noelle Galbraith, her brother Mike Coghlan, her sister-in-law Kathy Coghlan, and her nephews Michael and Kyle Coghlan. She is predeceased by her parents Millard and Patricia Coghlan. Deborah was born on November 14, 1956. She graduated from Spring Hill College in 1980 with a degree in history. She went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Georgia School of Law in 1983. Deborah would go on to...

Beverly Ann Spagg, age 74, passed away on March 22, 2023 after battling cancer. Beverly was born in Rochester, NY and moved to Georgia as a teenager. She graduated from Columbus High School and Columbus College in 1970 with a degree in biology. Beverly began her career as an environmental scientist with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Air Protection Branch immediately upon graduation. In 1977 she moved to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Atlanta, where she excelled. In her EPA career Beverly was asked to take on a variety of environmental compliance disciplines working in air quality, wastewater treatment, RCRA hazardous waste and federal facilities...

Laura Alice White Bessho passed away peacefully in the company of her two eldest children at King's Bridge Retirement Community in Atlanta on March 20, 2023. Laura was born in 1931 and raised in Andrews, NC, to the late Clarence White, and Maude Dalton White. In 1949, Laura married Jack Cabe and had two daughters. Remarried in 1955 to Louis Bessho, they had three children. The Bessho's raised all five children together as an Army family, traveling extensively across the US, Europe and Asia Minor, before settling in Decatur in 1970. Here Laura established roots in the community by joining Holy Trinity Parish, the Decatur YMCA and volunteering with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the...

Cal Maurice Sandman, age 97, began his eternal life with Christ Saturday, March 18, 2023 after a lifetime of service with unbridled enthusiasm. He was born in Louisville KY on November 3, 1925 to William John Sandman and Irma Klapheke. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Millie Sandman; his children: Tom Sandman (Melanie), Julie Sandman Reese (Herschel) Eleanor Sandman Hamilton (Cary), Kate Sandman Counter (Ian), and Julianna Czajkowski Lawrence (Michael); 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews. He attended Berea College ROTC Officer Training and served in active duty for four years. He continued with Naval Reserve for twenty years, retiring as a...

Mr. Joseph August Winkler, Jr. age 87, passed away on March 14, 2023. Joe was born in Brewton, AL, to the late Joseph Winkler Sr., and Marjorie Miller Winkler. He graduated from Decatur High School in 1955 and attended the University of GA from 1955-1959 where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics. While at UGA, he was member of Sigma Nu Fraternity and participated in ROTC. Following graduation, he was employed at the Naval Air Test Center in Patuxent River, MD. He was commissioned 2nd Lt in the US Army and served in Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD, and was in the military reserves for 10 years. He owned and operated service stations in Decatur and Atlanta from 1964 until his...

William Lee (Bill) Mathis, age 74, of Atlanta Georgia, formerly of Wilkes County North Carolina, passed away at his home March 7,2023. Surviving are his mother Bernice Mathis of North Wilkesboro NC, brother Bruce Mathis and Wife Louise Mathis of Wilkesboro NC, sister Barbara M. Dunnigan Of King NC and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Gaither Lee Mathis.The family will have a private memorial at a later date. After graduating from UNC Chapel Hill he moved to Atlanta to work for Travelers Insurance later for Mercury Insurance. He was an agent representative and loved his job and being able to help people. He will be sorely missed by his friends and family.

Barbara Linden, age 91, formerly of Fort Wayne, Indiana and recently residing in Atlanta GA, passed away on Friday, February 3rd, 2023. She passed away peacefully in her new home with her children present while listening to her favorite musician, Bruce Springsteen. Barbara's last gift to others was giving her cherished Bruce Springsteen Tickets for the Atlanta Show to a friend's daughter. A gift of a lifetime. Barb has been to see 15 of His concerts and was very excited to see him in her own town. As Bruce's show closed, mom quietly passed away. Barb is survived by her four children: Laura Green, Mark Linden and his wife Sharon McCaffrey, Cheryl Linden and Paul Linden. She has four...

Bobby E. Reece, 75, passed away peacefully on Friday, January 27, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia, surrounded by his family. Mr. Reece was married to Linda Rosamond Reece for 55 years. He was a 1965 graduate of Parker High School. Born in Pickens, South Carolina, he was the son of the late Harvey Benjamin and Ivory Anthony Reece. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sister, JoAnne Reece. Mr. Reece was raised and lived most of his life in Greenville, South Carolina. He also traveled extensively with his jobs and lived several years in Michigan, New Jersey, Switzerland, and Virginia. Throughout his career he worked in commercial construction as a superintendent and project...

Vaughn Eldon Miller passed away on January 11, 2023, due to complications from a stroke. Vaughn was born on September 14, 1931, in Oberlin, Kansas, to Letha and Carroll Miller. After high school and Army service, he studied at Kansas State College, where he met his wife, Connie Sue King. They welcomed their son Kevan Lee in 1959 and daughter Rachelle Lynn in 1965. They divorced in 1996. Vaughn retired many times, first from his career as an industrial engineer at Westinghouse in Columbia, SC, then from his remodeling business, then finally from his creek-side farm to move near his daughter in Decatur, Georgia, in 2020. Vaughn was predeceased by his parents and sister, Carolyn, and former...

Dr. Justin Lyle Conrad, age 87, of Atlanta died Thursday December 15, 2022, at Emory Decatur Hospital. Dr. Conrad was born in Jamestown North Dakota in 1935. He received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University, his MD from George Washington University, and his Master of Public Health from Harvard University. After being drafted for the Vietnam War, he served for two years in the Peace Corps where he earned the rank of Captain. He retired from the Center for Disease Control after a 30-year career, including serving as the Director of Field Services in Epidemiology. He loved hunting with his friends, fishing with his grandchildren and blueberry farming with the family. ...

Elizabeth "Wendy" Wilson Barringer, died peacefully on November 26, 2022, surrounded by her family, at her home in Atlanta. Wendy was born March 17, 1947 to Fred and Barbara (Lander) Wilson and grew up along with her sister, Holly, in Rosemont and Wayne, Pennsylvania. Wendy enjoyed annual summer visits to Lake Sunapee in New Hampshire and attended The Shipley School on the main line. In 1966 Wendy moved to Boston with her German Shepherd, Grindel, and enjoyed living on Beacon Hill and working as an editor at Houghton Mifflin. It was during this time that Wendy and Drew Barringer, who had met in high school, began writing to each other during his tour in Vietnam. Wendy and Drew were married...