William "Kieth" Pounds

William "Kieth" Pounds, 30, of Dawsonville passed away Monday October 15, 2012.

Kieth lived with his mother in the southern part of Lumpkin County. A bright and precocious child, Kieth was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on his brain stem at an early age. The tumor and the chemo and radiation treatments it required resulted in a lifetime learning disability and physical incapacity. He lived his adult life in Dawson and Lumpkin Counties, having benefitted greatly from the special education classes offered by the public school of those two jurisdictions. With the encouragement of family and friends, Kieth was active in his community as a youth, participating in Head Start, the Special Olympics, swimming programs at North Georgia College, summer reading programs, and raising money for Habitat for Humanity. He received the Citizenship awards from the time he was at Lumpkin County Elementary through his senior year at Dawson County High School. His remarkable reading skills, given his disability and difficulty with phonetics, were attributable to the insight and dedication of his mother, who taught him sight reading using flash cards. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, Rev. Jerome Hamm, and family members like his late Aunt Nancy Forsyth Noblin and his aunt Claire Sharp helped him go on special outings like Disney World, the Barnum and Bailey Circus and Dollywood. Kieth especially enjoyed the simple pleasures of life; and he gave others a renewed sense of their importance. He enjoyed time with friends, sitting down with a Tom Clancy novel, watching Dukes of Hazard reruns or a Terminator movie, feeding animals, collecting commemorative pins, eating buffalo wings, discussing coin collecting with long time family friend Bill Harrell, and creating a "bucket list" after watching the movie by the same name. His mother, who was his constant caregiver and sought to give him a "normal" life, gratefully acknowledges the assistance she received in that endeavor over the years from family and friends, including the Dahlonega United Methodist Church, the folks at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant, the staff of the Dahlonega AVEETA program, various therapy groups in Gainesville and many more. Recently slowed by a stroke and the regrowth of his tumor, which required intensive rehab, Kieth still succeeded (with the help of family and friends) in scratching a few more items off his bucket list, including a lobster dinner and a trip to Helen in a convertible. Kieth was baptized and confirmed as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Dahlonega Ward, on January 25, 2009 and his mother's baptism and confirmation followed shortly thereafter. He was preceded in death by his sister, Erica Danielle Helton, grandparents, George and Marie David, William J. and Vivian Pounds, and aunt, Debbie Cliatt.

Surviving are his mother, Jennifer C. David, Dawsonville; aunts and uncles, David and Jeanne Carpenter, Duluth, Mike Cliatt, Augusta, Dana and Ben LaChance, Dahlonega, Claire and Garry Sharp, Dahlonega, Melanie David Nelson, Dahlonega, Dorian Elise David, Dahlonega; cousins, Alison Cliatt, Chapin and Naomi LaChance, Helen and George Cartledge, Taylor and Mason Hulsey, and John Brian Macbeth.

Memorial services will be held Saturday October 20, 2012 at 2 o'clock at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Dahlonega Ward. Elder Mike Walls will officiate.

The family will receive friends Friday from 5 until 8 at the funeral home and Saturday from 1 until 2 at the church.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made in Kieth's memory to the Division of Neurology, Emory Children's Center, 1760 Clifton Road, Suite 1400, Atlanta Georgia 30022-4001.

Condolences may be expressed at www.beardenfuneralhome.com.

Bearden Funeral Home, Dawsonville, GA.