More detail on this person: Howard O. Sturgis, Jr. Howard O. Sturgis, Jr., 79, of Waycross died Monday evening at Baptist Village Nursing Home after an extended illness. Mr. Sturgis was born in Boston, Massachusetts to the late Howard O. Sr. and Eleanor Brown Sturgis but had made Waycross his home since 1977. He served his country faithfully in the United Sates Army, as a Captain he was Helicopter Pilot that flew many missions and received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He graduated college with a master's degree from NorthStar College in Alaska and taught locally before becoming the popular "Plant Doctor" at Ace Hardware in Blackshear. Mr. Sturgis was a member of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Waycross. In addition to his parents he is preceded in death by his wife, Donna Marie Helverson Sturgis and two daughters, Kathleen Elizabeth Smith and Virginia Loraine Jesse Smith. Mr. Sturgis is survived by eight children, Rosalind Weeks (David) of Conway, South Carolina, David Curtis Smith of Dixie Union, Andrew Wesley Smith (late Saundra) of Blackshear, Christopher Daniel Smith (Julie) of Patterson, Paul Joseph Smith of Blackshear, James Darnell Smith (Geri) of Waycross, Dennis Matthew Smith (Vicki) of Waycross, Mary Elizabeth Sturgis of FT. Wayne, IN; 13 grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; a sister, Ellie Rose Wilder of Tucson, AZ; numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives. A funeral service will be held Saturday (July 14, 2018) at 11:00am in the Miles-Odum Funeral Home Chapel. The family will be receiving friends beginning one hour prior to the service. Memorialization will be by cremation and the family will hold a burial service at a later date.
Burial information: Greenlawn Cemetery, Waycross, GA
This information was last updated 09/02/2020
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Date posted on this site: 10/13/2025
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