Whigham highway named in honor of Trulock

Published 8:54 am Tuesday, August 5, 2025

Motorists driving through the city of Whigham will notice new road signs honoring George C. Trulock Jr., a former city mayor and councilman, former Cairo police officer and local entrepreneur.

A dedication ceremony marking the naming of Hwy. 84 in Whigham was held Monday, July 28 at the Whigham Community Club with his wife, sons, state and local officials taking part.

The stretch of Hwy. 84 running from the east to the west city limits now bears signs naming it the George C. Trulock Jr. Memorial Highway.

In a Monday interview, his wife Jane Trulock recalled that he was a diehard Whighamite.

“He loved his town,” she said. “He loved the people of this town and wanted to do whatever he could to make it survive and thrive.”

Jane noted George was elected to the Whigham City council when he was only 22 years old, continuing in that role or as mayor from 1974 up until the time he passed away in 2022 from pancreatic cancer.

In addition to his public service in Whigham, he also worked as a police sergeant in the city of Cairo from 1972 until 1982.

“Mr. Trulock was a sergeant with the Cairo Police Department and was highly regarded by the citizens of his community and state and by local government officials as a person of unquestioned integrity and dedication to the sound principles of law enforcement,” according to Georgia House Resolution 7 that named the highway in his honor.

When he left the police force, his wife Jane said George ventured into business, starting out as a a gunsmith.

“He started out at our house in a tiny little building that he built,” she said. But he grew out of that location once he created the gun choke that became known as the Tru-Choke.

Jane shared the story on how he developed that choke.

“Ralph Walker in Alabama asked him to make some chokes for his gunsmithing business,” Jane recalled. “That’s when he got the idea of making his own style of screw-in choke, the Tru-Choke, that could be installed in guns that didn’t come with chokes.  All these many years later the company makes 2,000 to 3,000 different choke tubes for all sorts of all brand names of guns and they stay busy with it.”

The Georgia legislature recognized how George turned his invention into a thriving business.

“He grew his business producing the Tru-Choke from a shop in his home to a company with numerous employees producing Trulock Choke Tubes with sales across the country,” HR 7 noted.

The ceremony included remarks from Rep. Joe Campbell, who Jane said pushed for the measure to have the highway named for George. Also participating, she said, were former Rep. Darlene Taylor, Whigham Mayor Trey Gainous, Police Chief Tony Black and Daryl Ingram, senior vice president of external affairs for the Electric Cities of Georgia.

Additionally, Jane said George’s brother in law, who worked with him as a police officer in Cairo in the 1970s, also said a few words in his memory at the dedication.

The state legislature also added its praise of George in HR7.

“Mr. Trulock exhibited extraordinary devotion to public service, outstanding loyalty, fine leadership and meticulous attention to detail in all of his duties, and it is abundantly fitting and proper that this remarkable and distinguished Georgian be recognized appropriately by dedicating a road in his memory,” the resolution states.

HR7 won unanimous approval in the state House and Senate, and was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on May 14, with it becoming effective July 14.

Jane said the ceremony planned for the dedication also had special meaning since July 28 was George’s birthday and also her birthday.

“The city of Whigham chose that day,” she noted. “I had nothing to do with it.”

The dedication event was also made special with the unveiling  of a new rifle that George developed before his death.

“He wanted to build a rifle from scratch, so he did some research and modeled it,” Jane said. “We’re calling it the Trulock model 67 rifle. It’s modeled after the Winchester model 67 rifle.”

She explained that he had done the research and had gotten approval from Winchester to reproduce the model 67.

“Then he got sick and wasn’t able to complete it,” Jane said. But their sons, Scott and Jerrod joined with her in working to make his dream become a reality.

“George had no idea what was involved in making this rifle,” Jane said. “There’s so many components to it and so much red tape and hoops that you have to jump through to get it all together. But we hope to have it in production by November of this year.”

The first rifle with serial number one is Jane’s and will remain in the family.

“We hope to continue manufacturing those rifles,” she said, noting that son Jerrod did a lot of the work on it.

“He said this is an heirloom rifle and it should be handed down from generation to generation,” Jane noted. “It’s 100% USA made and a good portion of … it is made here in Whigham or in Georgia. The rifle will be available to purchase locally in Cairo and Bainbridge.

George Trulock’s story

Born in Cairo on July 28, 1952, George was the son of the late George C. Trulock Sr. and Dee Edwards Trulock Winstanley. He married Jane on Nov. 28, 1970, according to details from his obituary.

A machinist by trade, George was an expert gunsmith, as well as an avid firearms enthusiast. He started his business while working as a police officer in Cairo, founding Trulock Tool Co.

From a one-man operation that started at his home, he grew the business to employ more than 30 people and it remains in the family, with sons Scott and Jerrod running the operation today.

Trulock Tool Co. is known for producing superior quality choke tubes and gun parts, with customers across the globe.

As a gun enthusiast, George was a National Rifle Association Endowment member, former local NRA chapter president, a member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Heritage Foundation.

In his public service life, his obituary noted that he was the youngest person ever elected to Whigham City Council, serving on the body for 30 years and as mayor for 14 years.