Garnell Talley, 79, of Crandall, Ga. and formerly of Dillard, Ga., went home to be with the Lord on December 12, 2019 in Jacksonville, Fla. at the Mayo Clinic McGraw Hospice House. He is preceded in death by his parents, Lawrence and Valera Talley, his brother Clemson Talley, his brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Betty Talley, brother and sister-in-law, Gordon and Pauline Talley, and brother Calvin Talley, brother-in-law Harry Brown, daughter Tracy Talley, grandson Chris Talley, and nephew Dale Talley.
He is survived by his loving and devoted wife, Pamela Talley of Crandall, Ga., Daughters Patricia Thomas (Karl) of Otto, N.C., Pamela Hentschel (Rolf) of Vero Beach, Fla. and Robin Talley of Otto, N.C., sons Brent Smith (Jamie) of Madisonville, Tenn. and Darryl Smith (Regina) of Madisonville, Tenn. Also surviving are his grandchildren P.J. Bayles, Dustin Bayles, Weston Welch (Bailey), Michael Jacobs (Grace), Brayden Smith, Brandon Jacobs, Katelyn Jacobs, Josh Jacobs, Brandon Smith, and Aaron Smith, step-grandchildren George Hentschel, Thomas Hentschel (Mary Ann), and Michael Hentschel, great-grandchild Haven Cline.
Garnell was a legend in his own making with the hunting skills that he was known for, and loved teaching and sharing these skills with the next generation. Some of the greatest and funniest stories of his life involved hunting with family members and friends. We will all cherish those memories along with remembering him as a wonderful husband, father, brother, uncle, brother-in-law, cousin, grandfather & friend. He loved taking his RV with Pamela and their dogs on vacation, even if it was an hour away at some scenic beautiful place to enjoy nature. He also had one of the most beautiful and bountiful gardens every season that he enjoyed so very much.
He was an expert semi-truck driver and heavy equipment operator, winning state of Georgia awards in state driving competition. He was the best role model for anyone to learn life skills and he was meticulous. He was a heavy equipment operator for his county upon retirement but never quite gave up helping someone out on a job when his skills were needed. He had a passion for work and was one of the hardest-working men that has ever existed that actually loved it.
He was running heavy equipment just this spring. God must have needed some help up there preparing the ground to build our mansions! We will miss him so very much physically and all of his precious ways but will treasure all of the memories that we were able to make with him. Heaven is so much sweeter now!
He was of the Church Of God faith and the visitation will be at 3 p.m. with a 4 p.m. memorial service directly following at Mountain City Church of God in Mountain City, Ga., with Theresa Connor officiating on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019.