George William Hairston, III, 86, of Columbus passed away Wednesday, October 23, 2013, at his home after a lengthy illness. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Memorial Funeral Home. Services will be Sunday, October 27, 2013, at 2:00 PM at Memorial Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Clark Richardson officiating. Visitation will be at 1:00 PM. Interment will immediately follow in Shiloh Methodist Church Cemetery in Lamar County, AL, with a brief graveside service and prayer conducted by Calvin "Eddie" Thurmond, Mr. Hairston's son-in-law. The son of the late George William Hairston, Jr. and Corine Patty Hairston, Mr. Hairston was born August 8, 1927, in Columbus. He attended school in Brooksville and spent six years at Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, TN, graduating from high school in Brooksville. Shortly thereafter, he was drafted into the military during World War II. He served a total of nine years in both the US Air Force and the US Navy. Returning to Columbus in 1962, he eventually went to work in the Shipping Department of General Tire, retiring in 1990. While at General Tire, he acquired the nickname "Bulldog", because he was a big fan of Mississippi State Football and most of his co-workers were Alabama fans. In 1966, he married Jeanne H. McGee, a young widow with three children, whom he embraced as his own. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by one brother, Robert E. "Bob" Hairston. Mr. Hairston is survived by his wife, Jeanne M. Hairston of Columbus; two sons, Darryl G. McGee and his wife Lisa of Woodbridge, VA and Roy R. McGee of Columbus; daughter, Deborah M. Thurmond and her husband Calvin "Eddie" of Shreveport, LA; five grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; nephew, Robert E. "Bob" Hairston, Jr., and niece, Shelby H. Pilkington (Doug), both of FL; and a number of cousins. Memorials may be made to the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society, P.O. Box 85, Columbus, MS 39703 or to the donor's favorite charity.




Appeared in The Commercial Dispatch on October 27, 2013