Ret. Chief Petty Officer Wesley T. Abernathy

Ret. Chief Petty Officer Wesley T. Abernathy, age 70, of Lula, GA and formerly of Lawrenceville, GA passed away on Sunday, February 25, 2018. He was preceded in death by his parents, John T. and Elease Browning Abernathy. He is survived by his wife of forty-eight years, Beth Higgins Abernathy, Lula, GA; children, Melissa Kaye and Ryan Melton, Commerce, GA and Matthew Wesley Abernathy, Lula, GA; sister and brother-in-law, Phyllis and Jerry Mills, Lawrenceville, GA; aunt, Martha Webber, Arkansas; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Candace and Rusty Rogers, Los Vegas, NV; and several cousins. Mr. Abernathy was born January 13, 1948 in Suwanee, GA. He was a 1966 graduate of North Gwinnett High School in Suwanee, GA and a 1977 graduate of Mesa College with an Associate’s Degree. He was retired from the U. S. Navy after twenty-six years of service, also retired from Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation Department as a District Supervisor after twenty years of service and worked for the Atlanta Falcons in Suwanee, GA. His military career started when he went through Boot Camp in Great Lakes, IL, his military duty consisted of spending three and a half years on the U. S. S. Ogden L.P.D.5 carrying one thousand combat ready Marines and Seals Team to Vietnam and worked extensively around Danang Chulai on Chuviet River on the D.M.Z., served on the Combat Cargo Team, served six years with the Coastal Squadron One River; served six years on the Command Training Team on Navy and Marine Corp Readiness Center in Atlanta, GA, and spent ten years with the Military Sealift Command in Atlanta, GA. He was recalled to serve in Desert Storm for seven months. He was a member of the Woodman of the World Insurance Society and was a member of Peachtree Road Baptist Church in Suwanee, GA.  Funeral services will be held on Friday, March 2, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. at Peachtree Road Baptist Church in Suwanee, GA with Dr. Preston Moore and Rev. Jay Reed officiating. The remains will be placed in state at the church at 11:00 a.m. Interment will be at Peachtree Road Baptist Church Cemetery with full military honors and Rev. Roland Jackson and Rev. Danny Mundy officiating. The North Gwinnett High School Class of 1966 will serve as honorary escort along with his breakfast club. The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 1, 2018 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the funeral home.

To express condolences, please sign our online guest book at www.flaniganfuneralhome.com.  Arrangements By: Junior E. Flanigan of Flanigan Funeral Home and Crematory, Buford, GA (770) 932-1133.