Melba Funderburke

Melba Funderburke, 96, of Cobbtown, Georgia, died early Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at Cedar Plantation Assisted Living in Metter, Georgia. Ms. Funderburke was preceded in death by her parents, Baxter Funderburke and Mittie Sikes Funderburke, her brother Wilton (Louise) Funderburke, and her sister, Freida (Coleman) Lloyd and her nephew Glenn Lloyd.

Ms. Funderburke attended elementary and junior high at Hillview and high school in Collins in Tattnall County.  She earned a degree in elementary education from Georgia Teachers College and later attended Peabody College in Nashville, TN, and Vanderbilt University, where she earned her Master’s Degree and her six-year specialist degree.

Ms. Funderburke began her career at Cobbtown Elementary School, where she taught school and coached girls’ basketball.  She later taught at Hillview Junior High School, where she became principal. While she was there, she coached the boys’ basketball team.  Ms. Funderburke went on to teach in Atlanta City School System and later to Duval County System. In Duval, she spent over two decades teaching and also coordinated the cancer awareness program in an elementary school in Jacksonville, Florida.  Her students and team members knew her as “Miss Melba”.  After retirement, Ms. Funderburke returned to Cobbtown to care for her mother.

In 1945, during a church revival, Ms. Funderburke, along with her first cousin Ellis and Ruth Funderburk,  joined Evergreen Baptist Church. She was baptized there and remained a lifetime member.

Ms. Funderburke is survived by her sister and brother-in-law, Dorothy and Horace Shewmaker of Cobbtown; nieces and nephews; Sherry (Ronnie) Pope of Statesboro, Lana McCarthy of Savannah, Baxter (Marsha) Funderburke of Metter, Gwen (William) Moseley of Enterprise, Alabama, Teri Shewmaker of Cobbtown, Dixi Thoreson of Atlanta, and Mark Shewmaker of Atlanta; several great nieces and great nephews, and great great nieces and nephews and cousins including Ronnie (Olivia) Funderburk, Gail (Bobby) Lynn of Cobbtown and Martha Cannady of Metter.

The funeral will be held at 11 am at Kennedy Funeral Home, Cobbtown Chapel.  Visitation will be held from 10 am until 11 am.

Interment will be at Evergreen Baptist Church.