Mr. Eddie Lee Conaway, 79
Service for Mr. Eddie Lee Conaway , who died April 13, were held April 17 at Bennett Tabernacle Holiness Church with the Rev. Joyce Batten, Apostle Corie Clements and Bishop William Hollis officiating with Minister Rashaan Conaway, his son, delivering the eulogy.
Burial was April 19 in the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Glennville.
A native of Wheeler County, Mr. Conaway was born to Samuel Lee and Gladys Wilcox Conaway Nov. 27, 1941, in Bryant City, Fla. He attended Wheeler County Schools and Tech School in Atlanta for heating and air Conditioning and small appliances. He was a member of St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in the McArthur Community and attended St. James Full Gospel Church of God in McRae. Mr. Conaway served as a corporal in the Vietnam War 1964-1966 and continued serving in the New Jersey Reserve many years. Eddie was active in Jeff Davis and Telfair counties doing air conditioning work, small appliance repairs, laundry mat maintenance, etc. He was employed by Grindle’s Furniture and Appliance, Jack Dawson Furnitures and Appliances, Hazlehurst Mills, Amercord, Hubert Matthews Heating and Air, Ezeen Cleaners and others. He was self-employed for many years and was owner of the Golden Wheel Club, The Town and Country Snack Bar, Conaway’s Laundry Mat. He was an entrepreneur. Mr. Conaway was an outdoor person. He loved fishing, hunting, shooting pools and carpentry work. He never met a stranger and was always willing to help any way he could.
Preceding him in death are his parents and a sister Peggy Conaway Cedeno.
Survivors include his wife of 57 years, Pastor Naomi Conaway of Lumber City; children: Retired SSG Eddie Lee (Minister Janice) Conaway Jr. of Lumber City, Minister Rashaan Omar (Tabithia) Conaway of Atlanta, Elder Schnina (Elder Michael) Walker of New Castle, Del., Christopher Conaway of Lumber City, and Dondrea Geter of Alamo; 17 grandchildren and eight great grands; he and Naomi became parents to his younger siblings after the death of their parents: Christine (Pete) Way of Atlanta; Claudia Robinson of Glenwood; Freddie (Carolyn) Conaway of Vidalia; Ethridge Conaway of Atlanta; the Rev. Joyce (Harvey) Batten of McRae; Joel “Ronnie” Conaway of New Jersey; brothers Aaron Conaway of Lumber City, Samuel (Linda) Conaway and Franklin “Wyzing” (Carmel) Conaway of New Jersey; sisters Mary Ann Woodard and Evangelist Minnie (Isaac) Fulton, both of Lumber City, and Marlena B. Bess of Hazlehurst; and a host of brothers- and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Active pallbearers were Retired SFC Terry Andrews, John Merritt, Walter Northcutt, William Wilcox, Eric Stegall, Nickey Stegall.
Honorary pallbearers were brothers, John Tomblin, and Melvin Kellum.
King Brothers Funeral Home of Hazlehurst was in charge.
