Mrs. Ida Sutherland Atkinson Cecil

Mrs. Ida Sutherland Atkinson Cecil, age 86, of Griffin, passed away in the arms of the Lord Jesus Wednesday, March 19, 2008 at Spalding Regional Medical Center after a brief illness. Mrs. Cecil was born in 1921 in Brunswick, Georgia to the late Frank B. Atkinson and the late Ida McIntosh Atkinson. She is preceded in death by her husband of 52 years, Sam R. Cecil of Scott County, Tennessee, who passed away in 1999. Mrs. Cecil is also preceded in death by her beloved sister, Sara Hardee Ganswich and beloved step-son, Charles Vinton Cecil. She enjoyed her upbringing in Brunswick and at The Ridge along the marshes near Darien, and graduated from Glynn Academy in 1939, having been a cheerleader and an honor student. She pursued her interest in teaching by attending college at Georgia State College for Women where she trained in home economics. While teaching in Baxley, GA during World War II, she met Dr. J.G. Woodroof of the Georgia Experiment Station who recruited her to move to Griffin and work for UGA. There she became a lab assistant to Sam Cecil; together they developed many useful products using Georgia farm products, the best-known being Calloway Garden’s famous Muscadine Sauce and Muscadine Preserves recipes. Food Science gave way to romance, and the two research kitchen partners became marriage partners in 1947. By 1951, Ida had had enough of working for her husband, and returned to her love for teaching. She taught Home Ec. at Spalding High School, at schools in CA and OR, and then settled at Griffin High School where a generation of students can attest to her effective, personable, concerned way of relating to young people as she taught them Home Ec., Family Living, and Human Physiology. Along the way, she introduced many boys and girls to the joys of hiking the Appalachian Trail, and completed her 6-Year Program with UGA; she retired to “taking care of Sam” in 1983, splitting time between their home in Griffin and their cottage at The Ridge. Survivors include her son, John Cecil and his wife, Judi Willis Cecil; grandchildren, Samuel “Andy” Cecil and his wife, Hannah Kisner Cecil and their daughter, Micaiah Cecil, Adriane Cecil Duncan and her husband, Amos Duncan and their son, Titus Duncan, Laura Newton Cecil, Angela Cecil Binney and her husband, Curt Binney and their daughter, Sarah Binney; niece, Sara Scarlett Ganswich Siewart; nephew, Frank Mohring Ganswich; numerous extended family members. Memorial services for Mrs. Cecil will be conducted at 12:00noon on Saturday, March 22, 2008 in the Chapel of First United Methodist Church. Friends may visit the family one hour prior to the service and one hour after the service in the church parlor. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations will be welcomed by Altamamaha Riverkeeper, P.O. Box 2642, Darien, Georgia 31305 in memory of Mrs. Cecil

Mrs. Ida Sutherland Atkinson Cecil

June 14, 1921 - March 19, 2008