William "Dean" Layne

Mr. William “Dean” Layne, 82, of Tifton passed away on Wednesday, June 2, 2021 at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Graveside services will be held Sunday, June 6, 2021 at 1:00 P.M. in Oakridge Cemetery with military honors.  The service will be conducted by Mr. Guy Haynes and eulogies will be given by his grand daughter Jordan Lindsay Waddell, and  Mr. Scott Veazey. The family will receive friends from 11:30 to 12:30 P.M. at Albritton Funeral Directors before the service at the cemetery.

Stuart W. Hall, Sr., Thomas Carpenter, Jack Rogers, Tom Carpenter, Cameron Green along with employees of Southeastern Golf will serve as pallbearers.

Mr. Layne was born April 14, 1939 in Chattaroy, West Virginia as the only son of five children born to the late William Walter Layne and Ethel Copley Layne.  At the age of seventeen, unbeknown to his Mother, he joined the United States Army.  He was stationed at Fort Benning, where he served as a Military Police Officer for several years.  Throughout his military tenure, Dean served his country in Korea and was given an honoarable discharge after three years of service.   Dean was employed with Southeastern Golf and he had lived in Tifton for over thirty years. Prior to relocating to Tifton and beginning his career with Southeastern Golf, Dean owned and operated several successful Exxon and Chevron gas stations, to include full-service auto repair shops located in Columbus, Lawrenceville and Tifton. Dean was an avid golfer, fisherman and outdoorsman. Dean loved his family greatly and enjoyed spending time with them as often as possible, as family was the most important component of his life.  His five grandchildren, Jordan, Carter, Amelia, Iris and Julian were the absolute joy of his heart.  Dean also very much loved his Southeastern Golf family, particularly Scott Veazey (Amy) and the Veazey Family, they were dear to his heart.

Dean was a die-hard Alabama fan, one of his many enjoyments in life was watching SEC Football and chanting "Roll Tide!"  Dean also had a love and passion for cooking.  He was known for his skillet cornbread, chili dogs, cheese burgers and chocolate malts as well as his homemade vegetable beef soup and chicken noodle soup...  his homemade soups would truly feed your soul!  It brought him much pleasure to cook for others and observe them enjoying his meals, his cooking was a genuine act of love.  Dean was a very giving and generous man in many ways and it brought him great joy to give to others His giving heart was one of the most enduring qualities about him.  He loved music, particularly Southern Gospel.  You could drop in on him at any given moment and you would more than likely hear one of his beloved gospel songs blasting on the stereo and find him praising the Lord. In recent years, Dean found much happiness and fulfillment in feeding and watching "his birds."  He had transformed his backyard into a bird sanctuary where he would delight in watching them for hours.

Mr. Layne is survived by two daughters and son-in-law, Kimberly (Craig) McWilliams of Acworth and Stephanie Layne-Waddell (partner, Stuart W. Hall, Sr.) of Columbus; one son and daughter-in-law, Jason Dean Layne (Kristy) of Durham, North Carolina; five grandchildren, Jordan Lindsay Waddell, Carter Layne McWilliams, Amelia Sky Layne, Iris Yvonne Layne and Julian Dean Layne; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Tina and Tom Carpenter of Indiana and Lula and Jack Rogers of Virginia. Mr. Layne also is survived by nieces/great nieces, nephews/great nephews and cousins. all of whom were also very near and dear to him as well.

Albritton Funeral Directors is in charge of the arrangements.