Jimmie Eugene (Gene) Cone

Services for Jimmie Eugene (Gene) Cone, of Thomasville, will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015, at First United Methodist Church in Thomasville, with the Rev. Bob Dixon, the Rev. Burns Willis and the Rev. Jim Smith officiating. Interment will be at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Mr. Cone passed away Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, in Valdosta. Born on Sept. 12, 1929, in Manchester, he was a son of the late Perry Oliver Cone Sr. and Everlena Moree Cone. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1947 and proudly served until 1954. Mr. Cone founded Cone Motors with his brother, King, where he worked many years before his retirement. He loved to fresh water fish and especially enjoyed fishing the Ochlockonee River, Lake Okeechobee and numerous other rivers, lakes and ponds. He was an avid walker of mountain trails in North Georgia and especially enjoyed hiking the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and North Carolina. Mr. Cone was an active member of First United Methodist Church, where he served in several capacities through the years. He was also very active in the community by serving on numerous boards of directors, including, but not limited, to The Salvation Army, Vashti, in Thomasville and Hinton Rural Life Center in Hayesville, North Carolina. Survivors include his wife, Joyce M. Cone; children, Robert Eugene Cone and wife, Kay, Michael Wayne Cone, Ronald Bruce Cone, Mark Alan Cone and wife, Barbara, Barry Neal Cone and wife, Leah, Brian Keith Cone and wife, Evelyn, Beverly Ruis and husband, Donnie; 13 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren; siblings, King Solomon Cone and Faye Olive Folmer. Mr. Cone recently stated, “My greatest achievement was on March 17, 1950, in Albany, Georgia, when I made my high school sweetheart, Joyce Moore, my bride. I have had a great life with my wife, Joyce, and we were fortunate enough to have seven children, along with 13 great-grandchildren, six great-grandchildren. My life has been very fulfilling through family, great friends, my church and Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.” Mr. Cone’s family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m. Donations may be made to First United Methodist Church or to the Thomasville Food Bank at 425 N. Broad St., Thomasville, Georgia 31792. Guests may sign the online register at www.allenfh.com. — Allen & Allen Funeral Home