Jeff Raiford

Mr. Lane Seidel, age 65, of Tarrytown, died Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at his home after a sudden illness. Lane was born in San Diego, California while his father was serving in the U.S. Navy. He later lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to Vidalia in 1976. He had made Tarrytown his home for the past sixteen years. He was a 1979 graduate of Vidalia High School, and while in high school, Lane worked as a projectionist at the New Pal Theater in Vidalia. He later attended Brewton-Parker College and earned a degree in Electronics from Swainsboro Technical College. He began a career in the power industry in 1982, at Plant Branch in Milledgeville and transferred to Edwin I. Hatch Plant where he worked most of his career, retiring after more than forty-three years as supervisor in the Instruments and Controls Department. He was Baptist by faith. Lane had a great love of flying; he was a pilot and a member of Aircrafts Owners and Pilots Association and with the association, assisted the Blue Angels at the Vidalia Regional Airport. He enjoyed radio control airplanes and sport cars; he was a ham operator, and was a former member of Four Rivers Bass Masters Club. Inherited from his father, Lane had the innate ability to understand mechanics as a whole and was gifted in every aspect. As Lane always said when he was leaving, “glad you got to see me”.

Funeral services for Mr. Jerry Jerome “J J” Silvers will be held Wednesday, October 14, 2026 at 11:00 AM in the Chapel of Higgs Funeral Home in Soperton with Reverend Don Carroll officiating. Burial will be in the Tarrytown Cemetery in Montgomery County.

Deacon Bobby Ray Smith was born on October 24, 1952, in Toombs County, Georgia, to Helen Jones and John Smith. Raised in Vidalia by his mother and grandmother, Mary Lizzie Jones, he graduated from Vidalia High School, where he met his first wife, Issabell.

William “Howard” Rogers, Sr., age 91, passed into the presence of his Lord on October 16, 2026. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, a husband, a father, a church member, an uncle, a cousin, a friend, a co-worker, a man of honor, he will be missed by many whose lives he touched.

Southeastern Technical College (STC) Registrar Amanda Lively was selected to represent the College as its nominee for the Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) 2026 Student Impact Award.

Mr. Ernest Allen McCorkle, age 83, of Midway, Georgia, died Friday, October 16, 2026, at Tift Regional Medical Center in Tifton following an extended illness. He was a native of Toombs County, growing up in Vidalia, living in Savannah most of his life and had made Midway his home since 2022. He was a 1961 graduate of Vidalia High School and attended Brewton-Parker College. He was a U.S. Army veteran, serving one tour in Vietnam and was the recipient of the National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, two Oversees Bars, Sharpshooter Rifle Medal, and Army Commendation Medal. Ernest was a life member of VFW Post #660, American Legion Post #135, and was a member of Grace Church, all of Savannah. He was an air traffic controller in Savannah for twenty years and retired as safety compliance officer from Brassler Manufacturing. He was a long-time member of Richard T. Turner Masonic Lodge #116 and past Grand Marshall of the Grand Lodge of Georgia. He was a member of the York Rite in Savannah, past governor of the Herman E. Freeman York Rite College, Associate Regent for the York Rite Sovereign College of North America, and past Governor of Tall Cedar of Lebanon Allied Masonic Degrees of North America. He was also a member of the Grand Council Allied Masonic Degrees of the USA, Savannah Council #328, Order of Eastern Palestine Chapter #249 and past Royal Patron of the Grand Court of Georgia Order of the Amaranth in Richmond Hill, and Pursuant Sovereign Master of the Red Cross Constantine in Savannah. He enjoyed fishing and never met a stranger.

Lillie Ruth Byrd Reese, age 83, of Vidalia died Wednesday, October 14, 2026, at her home following an extended illness. She was a native of Toombs County and lived in Vidalia most of her life. She attended J.D. Dickerson High School and was a member of Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Vidalia. She enjoyed cooking, dancing, and preaching door to door for her congregation.

Mrs. Lynn Helms, age 65, of Vidalia, died Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at Memorial Health in Savannah. She was a native of Toombs County and was a graduate of Lyons Senior High School where she was President of the Class of 1979 and was a cheerleader. She lived in Hilton Head, South Carolina for a few years and in Nacogdoches and Timpson, Texas for many years, working with Ross Lumber Company in Timpson as a lumber inspector. Early in her life, she attended Higgston Baptist Church. She returned to Toombs County in 2009 and lived in Vidalia. She enjoyed singing, traveling, family gatherings, and going to the beach, especially Jekyll Island. She especially enjoyed spending time with her sisters, as they referred to themselves as “uniquely mixed nuts”.

Mrs. Juanita Taylor Wilson, age 87, of Higgston, died Friday, October 23, 2026, at her home following an extended illness. She was born on November 4, 1938 in Toombs County to the late Horace T. Taylor and Tempie Caraway Taylor. She was a 1956 graduate of Lyons High School. She and her late husband moved to Atlanta in 1957, returned to Toombs County in 1967, and moved to Montgomery County in 1997. She worked at First National Bank Montgomery County Bank and Trust for thirty-two years and until 2020 worked as an Auxilian at Memorial Health Meadows Hospital since 2012. She was a member of Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Vidalia. She enjoyed sewing, puzzles, traveling and learning new cultures, flowers, reading, and meeting new people.

Mr. Truman Edge, age 75, of the McNatt Falls Community, died Monday, October 19, 2026. He was a native of Treutlen County, growing up in Soperton and was a U.S. Army veteran. He lived in Dublin and Macon for a few years, but most of his life in the Uvalda area. He farmed with Gillman Jones for many years and also sold insurance. He was a member of Lotts Creek Church of God in Montgomery County. Mr. Edge enjoyed fishing at the Altamaha River, gardening, cooking, and hosting family events.