Harold Stone Lanier

Mr. Harold Stone Lanier, 92, of Clermont, passed away on July l8, 2014, at his residence. Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 23, 2014 at Trinity United Methodist Church, 5622 Clarks Bridge Road Clermont, with the Rev. John Moore officiating. Interment will follow at Sardis Baptist Church Cemetery, Canton, Ga. at 3:00 pm on the same day. Mr. Lanier was born to the late Walter Stone and Gertrude Smith Lanier on March 9, 1922, in Statham, Ga. the fifth of eleven children. He graduated from Crawford High School in 1939, and attended Reinhardt College. During WWII, he enlisted and flew 325 missions as a radio operator over Germany with the 445th. Army Air Corps bombardment group of the 8th Air Force. Upon returning home, he completed his degree at UGA and began teaching vocational agriculture in Dekalb County. Mr. Lanier then served along with his wife at Decatur United Methodist Church Children's Home in various roles: house-parents, farm manager, and assistant superintendent. He later moved his family to Athens, Ga., to manage Gold Kist feed/supply cooperative, and subsequently gave many years of service to the Central Soya Poultry Company there. Late in his career, Mr. Lanier moved his family to Clermont and managed the feed mill for Wayne Poultry Company in Gainesville, Ga. He was a dedicated member of First United Methodist Church, Athens, and later Trinity United Methodist Church , Clermont.In addition to his parents, Mr. Lanier was preceded in death by his son, Paul Harold Lanier, in 1963; brothers Clifford, Parks, Leon, Curtis, and Rozzie, and sister LaTrelle Etheridge. Survivors include his wife of 68 years, Cheston Cline Lanier, of Clermont; brother, Rene (Maxine) Lanier, Dalton, Ga. sister Agnes (Billy) Perry of Macon, Ga.; sister-in-law Betty Lanier, Crawford, Ga. brother and sister-in-law P.A. and Barbara Cline, Jr., Jasper, Ga. Mr. Lanier also is survived by his son, Tyre (Cheryl) Lanier, Raleigh, N.C; daughter, Nancy Fowler, Gainesville; and daughter Suzanne ( Jerry) Brady, Murrayville, Ga. He had fifteen grandchildren: Andrea (Matt) Erb; Melanie ( Brent) Piper, Paul (Melanie) Lanier, Montarie Lanier, Peter (Meghan) Lanier, Emily Lanier, Daniel Fowler, Meredith Brady, Quentin Brady, and Caroline Brady. He also is survived by eleven great-grandchildren; Abby Erb, Travis Erb, Owen Erb, Joanna Erb, Maya Piper, Macy Piper, Melyn Piper, James Lanier, Nathaniel Lanier, Will Fowler, and Jackson Norwood. The family will receive friends at Strickland Funeral Home on Tuesday, July 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. Memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 100 Clermont, Ga. 30527. Strickland Funeral Home, Clermont, Ga.