Mrs. Willora "Gloria" Stalvey Guthrie, age 88, born August 14, 1920 in Homerville, Georgia, died Monday, June 15, 2009 at the home of her daughter following a period of declining health due to a fall. She was preceded in death by her husband of 48 years, Ivan Guthrie; her parents Matthew and Tilda Stalvey formerly of Homerville, and her brother Matthew Stalvey Jr. also of Homerville. In December, 1940, she first came to north Georgia when she accepted a job with the State Highway Department in Atlanta. She resigned that position a year later to work for the War Department, Fourth Service command. Shortly after that she met her future husband Ivan on a blind date and they were married one year later in December of 1942 in the Coal Mountain community of Forsyth County. Gloria transferred to Ft. Custer, Michigan to be with her husband until he went overseas at which point she transferred back to Ft. McPherson to work at headquarters for the 3rd Army. In 1952, after living on North Avenue since WWII, the couple purchased a home in Alpharetta, remaining there until 1956 when they moved to Atlanta to start a new company. She worked in the family businesses until 1964 when she took a human resources job with the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. Working at CDC until retirement in 1985, her last position was Incentive Awards Officer. She moved to Dahlonega in 2001 after selling her home in Snellville. She was a member of Dahlonega Baptist Church.
She is survived by her son Ken Guthrie and his wife Ellie, and their two sons, Eric and Ty Guthrie all of Atlanta; daughter and son-in-law Chet and Janet Guthrie Barger, their sons Brett and Jeff Barger all of Dahlonega. She is also survived by sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and a host of other relatives. She also leaves behind her caregivers, Patti and Cori.
At the specific request of the deceased, the body has been cremated and interred in the family plot next to her husband at Midway Methodist Church in Cumming. Also at her request, the family will gather at a later date for a private memorial. Those who wish, may make memorial contributions to Dahlonega Baptist Church or their local hospice program or the charity of their choice.
Ingram Funeral Home and Crematory of Cumming, Ga. served the Guthrie family.