John Wesley Darden, Jr., born August 21, 1950, passed away April 21, 2016. Son of the late John Wesley Darden and Elizabeth Conoly Darden, he was a lifelong resident of Waycross. After graduating from Waycross High School, Mr. Darden earned a marketing degree from Florida State University. While there he was a member of the golf team and Kappa Alpha Order. The friendships he made during that time remain strong even today. In recent years he enjoyed planning and hosting annual Kappa Alpha reunions that brought many old friends together for good times in Southeast Georgia.
Mr. Darden spent his life surrounded by women, beginning with his mother. His three doting sisters, his loving wife of forty years, Gay King Darden, and his two daughters and three granddaughters adored him.
He began working at the age of ten at his father's store, John Darden's Supermarket, where he continued to work through college. Upon graduation from college, he was employed by E.R. Squibb, working for six years as a pharmaceutical representative. He began his career in the insurance business in 1978 with H.H. Burnett and Company.
He and his business partner and great friend, the late Bryant Clarke, started Clarke-Darden Insurance Company in 1984, and he owned the business until 2014. He has worked with J. Smith Lanier since that time.
For many years, Mr. Darden was well known by young people in the Waycross and Blackshear area as deejay for the St. Illa Jr. Cotillion, where he assisted his wife in teaching etiquette and ballroom dance to students for over eighteen years.
Mr. Darden was a lifelong and devoted member of First Presbyterian Church. He was an elder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for over twenty years.
An avid golfer, fisherman and hunter, he had a great passion for the outdoors. He was a member and past board member of the Okefenokee Country Club and a member and past president of the Waycross Fishing Club, where he was able to enjoy his love of sports and nature. He was always happiest on the golf course or in a fishing boat, where he insisted to his wife that it never rained.
He enjoyed Florida State Football, working crossword puzzles and preparing smothered quail and fried fish for his family and friends.
Affectionately known as Johnny, he will be remembered as hard-working and generous, occasionally boisterous and often stubborn, and fiercely loyal to those he loved.
He is survived by his wife, Gay King Darden; daughters Kathryn Darden Tupper and husband James Moore Tupper of Charleston, South Carolina, and Conoly Darden Flynt and husband James Edwin Flynt of Atlanta, Georgia; granddaughters Margaret Singleton Tupper, Sarah Darden Tupper and Julia Darden Flynt; sisters Elizabeth Darden Hatcher and husband William Stanley Hatcher of Statesboro, Georgia, Jane Darden Lanier and husband John Hicks Lanier of Atlanta, Georgia, and Ruth Darden Foss of Key Biscayne, Florida; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. in the church social hall.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Satilla, 808 Evergreen Way, Waycross, Georgia 31501.
Sympathy may be expressed by signing online at www.milesodumfuneralhome.com.
Mr. Darden spent his life surrounded by women, beginning with his mother. His three doting sisters, his loving wife of forty years, Gay King Darden, and his two daughters and three granddaughters adored him.
He began working at the age of ten at his father's store, John Darden's Supermarket, where he continued to work through college. Upon graduation from college, he was employed by E.R. Squibb, working for six years as a pharmaceutical representative. He began his career in the insurance business in 1978 with H.H. Burnett and Company.
He and his business partner and great friend, the late Bryant Clarke, started Clarke-Darden Insurance Company in 1984, and he owned the business until 2014. He has worked with J. Smith Lanier since that time.
For many years, Mr. Darden was well known by young people in the Waycross and Blackshear area as deejay for the St. Illa Jr. Cotillion, where he assisted his wife in teaching etiquette and ballroom dance to students for over eighteen years.
Mr. Darden was a lifelong and devoted member of First Presbyterian Church. He was an elder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for over twenty years.
An avid golfer, fisherman and hunter, he had a great passion for the outdoors. He was a member and past board member of the Okefenokee Country Club and a member and past president of the Waycross Fishing Club, where he was able to enjoy his love of sports and nature. He was always happiest on the golf course or in a fishing boat, where he insisted to his wife that it never rained.
He enjoyed Florida State Football, working crossword puzzles and preparing smothered quail and fried fish for his family and friends.
Affectionately known as Johnny, he will be remembered as hard-working and generous, occasionally boisterous and often stubborn, and fiercely loyal to those he loved.
He is survived by his wife, Gay King Darden; daughters Kathryn Darden Tupper and husband James Moore Tupper of Charleston, South Carolina, and Conoly Darden Flynt and husband James Edwin Flynt of Atlanta, Georgia; granddaughters Margaret Singleton Tupper, Sarah Darden Tupper and Julia Darden Flynt; sisters Elizabeth Darden Hatcher and husband William Stanley Hatcher of Statesboro, Georgia, Jane Darden Lanier and husband John Hicks Lanier of Atlanta, Georgia, and Ruth Darden Foss of Key Biscayne, Florida; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. in the church social hall.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Satilla, 808 Evergreen Way, Waycross, Georgia 31501.
Sympathy may be expressed by signing online at www.milesodumfuneralhome.com.
John Wesley Darden, Jr., born August 21, 1950, passed away April 21, 2016. Son of the late John Wesley Darden and Elizabeth Conoly Darden, he was a lifelong resident of Waycross. After graduating from Waycross High School, Mr. Darden earned a marketing degree from Florida State University. While there he was a member of the golf team and Kappa Alpha Order. The friendships he made during that time remain strong even today. In recent years he enjoyed planning and hosting annual Kappa Alpha reunions that brought many old friends together for good times in Southeast Georgia.
Mr. Darden spent his life surrounded by women, beginning with his mother. His three doting sisters, his loving wife of forty years, Gay King Darden, and his two daughters and three granddaughters adored him.
He began working at the age of ten at his father's store, John Darden's Supermarket, where he continued to work through college. Upon graduation from college, he was employed by E.R. Squibb, working for six years as a pharmaceutical representative. He began his career in the insurance business in 1978 with H.H. Burnett and Company.
He and his business partner and great friend, the late Bryant Clarke, started Clarke-Darden Insurance Company in 1984, and he owned the business until 2014. He has worked with J. Smith Lanier since that time.
For many years, Mr. Darden was well known by young people in the Waycross and Blackshear area as deejay for the St. Illa Jr. Cotillion, where he assisted his wife in teaching etiquette and ballroom dance to students for over eighteen years.
Mr. Darden was a lifelong and devoted member of First Presbyterian Church. He was an elder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for over twenty years.
An avid golfer, fisherman and hunter, he had a great passion for the outdoors. He was a member and past board member of the Okefenokee Country Club and a member and past president of the Waycross Fishing Club, where he was able to enjoy his love of sports and nature. He was always happiest on the golf course or in a fishing boat, where he insisted to his wife that it never rained.
He enjoyed Florida State Football, working crossword puzzles and preparing smothered quail and fried fish for his family and friends.
Affectionately known as Johnny, he will be remembered as hard-working and generous, occasionally boisterous and often stubborn, and fiercely loyal to those he loved.
He is survived by his wife, Gay King Darden; daughters Kathryn Darden Tupper and husband James Moore Tupper of Charleston, South Carolina, and Conoly Darden Flynt and husband James Edwin Flynt of Atlanta, Georgia; granddaughters Margaret Singleton Tupper, Sarah Darden Tupper and Julia Darden Flynt; sisters Elizabeth Darden Hatcher and husband William Stanley Hatcher of Statesboro, Georgia, Jane Darden Lanier and husband John Hicks Lanier of Atlanta, Georgia, and Ruth Darden Foss of Key Biscayne, Florida; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. in the church social hall.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Satilla, 808 Evergreen Way, Waycross, Georgia 31501.
Sympathy may be expressed by signing online at www.milesodumfuneralhome.com.
Mr. Darden spent his life surrounded by women, beginning with his mother. His three doting sisters, his loving wife of forty years, Gay King Darden, and his two daughters and three granddaughters adored him.
He began working at the age of ten at his father's store, John Darden's Supermarket, where he continued to work through college. Upon graduation from college, he was employed by E.R. Squibb, working for six years as a pharmaceutical representative. He began his career in the insurance business in 1978 with H.H. Burnett and Company.
He and his business partner and great friend, the late Bryant Clarke, started Clarke-Darden Insurance Company in 1984, and he owned the business until 2014. He has worked with J. Smith Lanier since that time.
For many years, Mr. Darden was well known by young people in the Waycross and Blackshear area as deejay for the St. Illa Jr. Cotillion, where he assisted his wife in teaching etiquette and ballroom dance to students for over eighteen years.
Mr. Darden was a lifelong and devoted member of First Presbyterian Church. He was an elder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for over twenty years.
An avid golfer, fisherman and hunter, he had a great passion for the outdoors. He was a member and past board member of the Okefenokee Country Club and a member and past president of the Waycross Fishing Club, where he was able to enjoy his love of sports and nature. He was always happiest on the golf course or in a fishing boat, where he insisted to his wife that it never rained.
He enjoyed Florida State Football, working crossword puzzles and preparing smothered quail and fried fish for his family and friends.
Affectionately known as Johnny, he will be remembered as hard-working and generous, occasionally boisterous and often stubborn, and fiercely loyal to those he loved.
He is survived by his wife, Gay King Darden; daughters Kathryn Darden Tupper and husband James Moore Tupper of Charleston, South Carolina, and Conoly Darden Flynt and husband James Edwin Flynt of Atlanta, Georgia; granddaughters Margaret Singleton Tupper, Sarah Darden Tupper and Julia Darden Flynt; sisters Elizabeth Darden Hatcher and husband William Stanley Hatcher of Statesboro, Georgia, Jane Darden Lanier and husband John Hicks Lanier of Atlanta, Georgia, and Ruth Darden Foss of Key Biscayne, Florida; and numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives.
A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday at First Presbyterian Church. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery. The family will receive friends Monday from 9:30 a.m. until 10:45 a.m. in the church social hall.
Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Satilla, 808 Evergreen Way, Waycross, Georgia 31501.
Sympathy may be expressed by signing online at www.milesodumfuneralhome.com.
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