Thursday March 28th, 2024 10:09PM

Clarkesville leaders pause to remember Councilman 'Coach' Bruce Lewallen

CLARKESVILLE — The Clarkesville City Council paused at the beginning of its work session Thursday to remember Councilman "Coach" Bruce Lewallen, 75, who died Wednesday, Jan. 17, after an extended illness.

“Unfortunately, Bruce had not been well for the great majority of the time that he served on the council,” said Mayor Barrie Aycock. “He was diagnosed with cancer very shortly after he was elected to the council, so he really never was able to give it the attention that I think he wanted to. But he was very passionate about Clarkesville, and he was also very passionate and very opinionated about things that he wanted to see happen and not happen.”

But Aycock said Lewallen’s contributions to the community through the years likely will be missed even more than his work on the city council.

“He will be sorely missed, but I think even more so as a resident of Clarkesville and a former teacher and former mentor to an awful lot of young folks who grew up looking up to him,” Aycock said. “We’re certainly very sad for our loss.”

Lewallen was a teacher at North Habersham for several years before becoming an assistant principal and later retiring as the principal for Woodville Elementary. Earlier in his career, he taught for both Banks County High School and North Habersham.

He coached football for Banks County, Habersham Central, and North Habersham Middle School, where he also coached basketball.

Funeral services will be held at 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, at the chapel of McGahee-Griffin and Stewart Funeral Home in Cornelia. Burial will follow at Yonah Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 4-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19.

Memorials may be made to the Clarkesville Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 667, Clarkesville, GA 30523.

But Clarkesville is not the only Habersham County municipality dealing with the loss of a seated councilmember.

 

Funeral set for Mt. Airy Councilwoman Linda Hughes

Mt. Airy Town Councilwoman Linda Hughes, 71, also died Wednesday, Jan. 17.

Hughes, who had served on the town council since January 2008, was employed as a cashier at Habersham Hardware in Cornelia for many years.

Funeral services for Hughes will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 21, at the chapel of McGahee-Griffin and Stewart Funeral Home in Cornelia. Burial will follow in Eastview Cemetery in Mt. Airy.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6-8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19, and from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22478, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.

Complete obituaries for Lewallen and Hughes appear in the Obituary section of AccessWDUN.

 

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