James Franklin Panter

James Franklin Panter passed away on July 16, 2020. He was born in Morganton, Georgia, on July 10, 1933, the youngest child of Nannie Daves Panter and Robert Harmon Panter, Sr. With a father who was a school superintendent, Jim was raised and educated in towns all over the state of Georgia. He met his future wife, Sarah Margaret Smith, while living in Hazelhurst, Georgia . He graduated from Fannin County High School and went on to graduate from his father’s alma mater, Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. Jim served in the United States Army Security Agency. A physics major, Jim worked as an insurance adjuster in Charleston, South Carolina and later for The Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Association in Atlanta, becoming an expert on bottle breakage. Jim and Margaret married in Glenn Memorial Chapel on the Emory campus on June 8, 1957. While working with Coca-Cola, Jim attended and graduated from Emory University School of Law in 1960. He worked as a Claims Manager for Southern Insurance Underwriters before entering the private practice of law. Raised in the Baptist faith, Jim was a member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church and a member of Seekers Sunday School Class. He was a member of the LaVista Lions Club and Sons of the American Revolution. He was very interested in researching genealogy.

He loved his wife and family very much. Jim is predeceased by his parents; his son James Franklin Panter, Jr.; brothers: Robert Harmon Panter, Jr.,William Brewton Panter, Samuel Daves Panter, and Willis Hampton Panter; and sisters: Josephine Elizabeth Panter and Mary Ruth Panter Wise.

He is survived by his wife, Margaret, of 63 years; daughters: Laura Margaret Panter Ozment (Randall) of Dublin and Elizabeth Faye Panter Beal (John) of Atlanta; daughter-in-law Abbie Parker Panter (widow of James, Jr.); grandson Matthew Ozment (Whitney) of Greenville, SC; granddaughters: Alison Ozment Feyereisen (Joel) of Atlanta, GA, Abby Ozment Goolsby (Ben) of Birmingham, AL, Anna Ozment McClung (Brad) of Chattanooga, TN, Melanie Beal Orr (Phillip) of Decatur, GA, Kelsey Michele Beal of Raleigh, NC, Aierelle McFall Anderson (Colton) of Lawrenceville, GA, and Presley Kay McFall of Lawrenceville, GA; and great-granddaughters: Arah Jane, Grady Anne, and Emmaline Grace Ozment.

A private graveside service will take place at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to one of the following children’s homes in his memory:

Georgia Baptist Children’s Homes and Family Ministries

9420 Blackshear Highway

Baxley, Georgia 31513

or

Wellroot Family Services

(formerly the United Methodist Children’s Home )

1967 Lakeside Parkway, Suite 400

Tucker, Georgia 30084

Condolences may be left at www.asturner.com.