Perry "P.O." Styles, of Bowdon, Georgia, passed away on June 30, 2011. He was 74. Perry was born on June 11, 1937 in Bowdon to the late Perry, Sr. and Katherine Robinson Styles. He grew up on a farm, finding fun and excitement the way farmboys do...turning broomsticks into Roy Roger's horse "Trigger", transforming old frazzled ropes into jungle vines that would make "Tarzan" proud, taking a cool dip in a swimming hole called "Slick Rock" after the chores were done. Known as "Junior" at the time (a nickname he shed as soon as possible), he showed early skills as the basketball star he would later become by throwing foam balls through a wooden rim tacked up on the side of his daddy's barn. Styles athletic career at Bowdon High School was legendary, scoring over 50 points in one basketball game, earning him a scholarship to Young Harris College and enough respect from opposing teams that they would be forced to completely alter their game plan to counter his hot shooting hand and merciless defense. And he was no slacker on the football field, either.
"P.O.", as most of his friends knew him through his teens and 20's, after serving in the United States Army, left his hometown to become the youngest traveling salesman ever hired by local clothing magnate, Warren Sewell to work the tough new territory of Ohio and Indiana. Over a twice-yearly 12-week sales period, he made over 124 stops, often successfully introducing new clothing lines to hardened Men's Store owners simply by wearing them. Slim, tall, handsome and charming, it was said Perry could sell "ice to an eskimo" and never met a stranger, no matter how strange the vast Midwest might have seemed to him, on the road at 29.
Following his own father's death in 1973, he returned with his family to Bowdon, where upon he opened a successful hardware store with his brother-in-law right on the still-vibrant town square. Everyone in the mid-to-late '70's in Bowdon remembers running into "OTASCO" for something at some point. From stereos to go-carts to fishing tackle to reclining chairs, Perry and staff would make sure you left with a smile. He finally left the world of sales altogether nearly a decade ago, after showing West Georgia that he could move cars off a dealer's lot at the same rate he once set records as a clothing marketer and a backboard charging re-bounder for his beloved Red Devil's.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda Styles; son and daughter-in-law, daughter, two stepdaughters, two sisters, four grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren, and a step-great-grandson.
Funeral service held on July 2 at Indian Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Ralph Caldwell officiating and Mr. Jeff Styles providing an eulogy. Interment at the church cemetery. Rainwater Funeral Home, Bowdon in charge of arrangements.
"P.O.", as most of his friends knew him through his teens and 20's, after serving in the United States Army, left his hometown to become the youngest traveling salesman ever hired by local clothing magnate, Warren Sewell to work the tough new territory of Ohio and Indiana. Over a twice-yearly 12-week sales period, he made over 124 stops, often successfully introducing new clothing lines to hardened Men's Store owners simply by wearing them. Slim, tall, handsome and charming, it was said Perry could sell "ice to an eskimo" and never met a stranger, no matter how strange the vast Midwest might have seemed to him, on the road at 29.
Following his own father's death in 1973, he returned with his family to Bowdon, where upon he opened a successful hardware store with his brother-in-law right on the still-vibrant town square. Everyone in the mid-to-late '70's in Bowdon remembers running into "OTASCO" for something at some point. From stereos to go-carts to fishing tackle to reclining chairs, Perry and staff would make sure you left with a smile. He finally left the world of sales altogether nearly a decade ago, after showing West Georgia that he could move cars off a dealer's lot at the same rate he once set records as a clothing marketer and a backboard charging re-bounder for his beloved Red Devil's.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda Styles; son and daughter-in-law, daughter, two stepdaughters, two sisters, four grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren, and a step-great-grandson.
Funeral service held on July 2 at Indian Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Ralph Caldwell officiating and Mr. Jeff Styles providing an eulogy. Interment at the church cemetery. Rainwater Funeral Home, Bowdon in charge of arrangements.
Perry "P.O." Styles, of Bowdon, Georgia, passed away on June 30, 2011. He was 74. Perry was born on June 11, 1937 in Bowdon to the late Perry, Sr. and Katherine Robinson Styles. He grew up on a farm, finding fun and excitement the way farmboys do...turning broomsticks into Roy Roger's horse "Trigger", transforming old frazzled ropes into jungle vines that would make "Tarzan" proud, taking a cool dip in a swimming hole called "Slick Rock" after the chores were done. Known as "Junior" at the time (a nickname he shed as soon as possible), he showed early skills as the basketball star he would later become by throwing foam balls through a wooden rim tacked up on the side of his daddy's barn. Styles athletic career at Bowdon High School was legendary, scoring over 50 points in one basketball game, earning him a scholarship to Young Harris College and enough respect from opposing teams that they would be forced to completely alter their game plan to counter his hot shooting hand and merciless defense. And he was no slacker on the football field, either.
"P.O.", as most of his friends knew him through his teens and 20's, after serving in the United States Army, left his hometown to become the youngest traveling salesman ever hired by local clothing magnate, Warren Sewell to work the tough new territory of Ohio and Indiana. Over a twice-yearly 12-week sales period, he made over 124 stops, often successfully introducing new clothing lines to hardened Men's Store owners simply by wearing them. Slim, tall, handsome and charming, it was said Perry could sell "ice to an eskimo" and never met a stranger, no matter how strange the vast Midwest might have seemed to him, on the road at 29.
Following his own father's death in 1973, he returned with his family to Bowdon, where upon he opened a successful hardware store with his brother-in-law right on the still-vibrant town square. Everyone in the mid-to-late '70's in Bowdon remembers running into "OTASCO" for something at some point. From stereos to go-carts to fishing tackle to reclining chairs, Perry and staff would make sure you left with a smile. He finally left the world of sales altogether nearly a decade ago, after showing West Georgia that he could move cars off a dealer's lot at the same rate he once set records as a clothing marketer and a backboard charging re-bounder for his beloved Red Devil's.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda Styles; son and daughter-in-law, daughter, two stepdaughters, two sisters, four grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren, and a step-great-grandson.
Funeral service held on July 2 at Indian Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Ralph Caldwell officiating and Mr. Jeff Styles providing an eulogy. Interment at the church cemetery. Rainwater Funeral Home, Bowdon in charge of arrangements.
"P.O.", as most of his friends knew him through his teens and 20's, after serving in the United States Army, left his hometown to become the youngest traveling salesman ever hired by local clothing magnate, Warren Sewell to work the tough new territory of Ohio and Indiana. Over a twice-yearly 12-week sales period, he made over 124 stops, often successfully introducing new clothing lines to hardened Men's Store owners simply by wearing them. Slim, tall, handsome and charming, it was said Perry could sell "ice to an eskimo" and never met a stranger, no matter how strange the vast Midwest might have seemed to him, on the road at 29.
Following his own father's death in 1973, he returned with his family to Bowdon, where upon he opened a successful hardware store with his brother-in-law right on the still-vibrant town square. Everyone in the mid-to-late '70's in Bowdon remembers running into "OTASCO" for something at some point. From stereos to go-carts to fishing tackle to reclining chairs, Perry and staff would make sure you left with a smile. He finally left the world of sales altogether nearly a decade ago, after showing West Georgia that he could move cars off a dealer's lot at the same rate he once set records as a clothing marketer and a backboard charging re-bounder for his beloved Red Devil's.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda Styles; son and daughter-in-law, daughter, two stepdaughters, two sisters, four grandchildren, eight step-grandchildren, and a step-great-grandson.
Funeral service held on July 2 at Indian Creek Baptist Church with Rev. Ralph Caldwell officiating and Mr. Jeff Styles providing an eulogy. Interment at the church cemetery. Rainwater Funeral Home, Bowdon in charge of arrangements.
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