Lillian (Lee) Corbett
Mrs. Herbert Norman Corbett, Sr.
1904 - 1992

Obituary

Lillian Lee Corbett is Killed in Auto Accident
Huxford Genealogical Society Loses One of its Most Valuable Members
(originally published in HGS Magazine, Vol. XIX, No. 3, September 1992)

At 6:58 on the evening of June 25th (1992), our secretary, Lillian Lee Corbett, pulled out in the path of a truck.  She and her brother, Edward Lee, were killed instantly.

Lillian was born May 8, 1904 in Clinch County but had lived in the Manor area for more than 50 years.  She was the widow of Herbert Norman Corbett, Sr. and the daughter of Jesse Peter and Nancy Caroline Powell Lee.

Lillian was a charter member of our society and, during most of this time, she has been the secretary of our society and a member of our Board of Directors.  The Huxford Genealogical Society has been a great part of her life - she was a joy - always a smile on her face - always a good word for everyone.  If you missed a meeting, you could depend on her minutes to keep you fully advised as to everything that took place in the meeting, and maybe few tidbits that didn't actually happen.  Her contribution to our society is immeasurable.

While we claim Lillian as ours, she contributed much more through the years to her community and area and to many other organizations.  Let’s reflect on just a few of them.

She retired in 1967 from Manor High School, having served more than 40 years as a classroom teacher in the Ware, Clinch, and Lanier County School Systems.  She had also been a counselor and senior class sponsor at Manor High School and had been honored as Star Teacher.

Lillian received her Bachelor's Degree from Valdosta State College and her Master's Degree from the University of Georgia.  Her Master's Thesis was on the founding of the Ruskin Socialist Colony in Ware County.

Lillian was a member of the Ware County Retired Teachers Association and formerly held state office with the Georgia Association of Educators and in the Delta Kappa Gamma educators' honor society.

She was a Sunday School teacher and former church pianist at New Prospect Methodist Church and served as secretary of the Manor New Prospect United Methodist Women.

Lillian had written feature articles and columns for the Journal-Herald, and her "Okefenokee Fence Jams" column appeared regularly in the Clinch, Lanier, and Coffee County weekly newspapers.  Several of her short stories were published in magazines.  Among them was a story entitled, "Pigs in the Dahlias" which appeared in The Christian Herald.

Her influence has been felt in many other organizations to which she belonged and was actively involved: The. John Floyd Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution; The Francis S. Bartow Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy; Waycross-Ware County Chamber of Commerce; Ware County Democratic Committee; and the Women's Christian Temperance Union.

Lillian was also an avid supporter of Common Cause, based in Washington, D.C. and was listed in "Who's Who Among American Women."

Yes, Lillian Lee Corbett has had a great influence not only on our Society, but on every step she has taken through her long and wonderful life and the many other organizations of which she was a part.  She was a great Christian woman.  Her tragic death has created a void in our society that cannot be filled.

Lillian Lee Corbett will be missed ......