Moultrie, GA - How do you describe the life of Gerald (Gerry) F. Webb? He was born August 8, 1943, during WW II, to parents Fred Webb and Yuba Will Prince. Gerry's father was stationed at Spence Air Base in Moultrie, Ga. His mother was only 20 years old and lived at her childhood home on the Prince farm on Sumner Rd while Gerry's father was in service.

Gerry's childhood was spent on the Prince farm with a grandmother he adored, and on the farm that his father later established. That experience created a work ethic in Gerry that stayed with him throughout life. It created a love of nature, trees, cows, horses, dogs...the animals he grew up with and others he kept most of his later life. He also made connections to Kentucky,

through working in tobacco and the tobacco buyers his father knew. That love of Kentucky and the friends he made there stayed with him throughout life.

Gerry played sports throughout his childhood, and lettered in baseball at Moultrie High School.

Baseball was the sport he loved the most and later shared with grandchildren. The sound of a

baseball game on television is a sound that comforts his wife Joy, she will always think that Gerry is nearby.

Gerry's love of woodworking and building started with his childhood farm experience. He built cypress knee lamps, small wooden boats used by he and his friends for fishing, and loved

shop classes in high school. He perfected his skills as he met new woodworkers who taught him techniques. Over his life, Gerry built several houses, including a log cabin in North GA, the

restoration of a house for his mother on the Sumner Rd, and family houses he built both in

Moultrie and in Colquitt county. He loved wood, to collect beautiful wood, and to include it in buildings... heart pine, walnut, cypress, poplar, cherry. Any place he lived... he added beautiful pieces of wood. His woodworking included furniture, bowls, lamps, vases...both functional and beautiful pieces of art. At the age of 75, Gerry built a treehouse for the grandkids they all love.

He deeply valued his friends from childhood such as those from Sunset Elementary. Those friends called, visited, checked on Gerry in his last days...speaking even then of childhood adventures and exploits they shared.

Gerry's first love was Mary Ann Avera. They married in 1965. Both then attended graduate school at Florida State University where Gerry received his PhD in English. Mary Ann became a speech pathologist. She died of a lengthy illness in 1988. They and their children, Russ and Brad, were cared for by family, the Moultrie Episcopal Church, and friends they made there and elsewhere.

Gerry loved literature... Thomas Jefferson, William Faulkner, Mark Twain, Leslie Mormon Silko were a few of his favorites. Gerry's life epitomized the Mark Twain quote..."I have never let my

schooling interfere with my education." His love of literature made him an excellent story teller.

Those willing to listen, especially his grandchildren, heard long tales often exaggerated for affect.

Gerry taught both in South Carolina and the University System of Georgia for over 30 years,

retiring from Valdosta State. All four of his children attended classes at times with him when

young, sometimes hiding under his desk. Gerry made lifelong friends while at Valdosta, who kept in touch and visited with him near the end of his life.

The year Gerry retired, 1999, he and his boys, plus friends, built what started as a raft. It morphed into a type of houseboat on barrels. That summer, they rafted down the Chattahoochee River from Walter F George dam on the Alabama line to the Gulf at Apalachicola, Fl. The whole trip took over two weeks and is a family favorite story, one the grandchildren want repeated.

Joy Avery and Gerry married in 1992. He raised her children, Ada and Nolan, as his own. They both loved music, animals, the farm, travel...especially to Cape San Blas, Fl and Maine. Where once again, Gerry did woodworking and made good friends.

A deeply spiritual man but not a man of church, Gerry was a good man who worshipped more under a cathedral of trees. His favorite music was Beethoven's 9th Symphony...especially "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee", music played for him in his last days. He also listened to The Seafarer adapted and recorded by his son Russ, and songs sung by his wife Joy and grandchildren. In his last days, Gerry was cared for at home by family, his new friend David

Lawson, and Hospice, who were invaluable. Gerry died peacefully at home on July 16, 2026.

Gerry is known as Poppy by his seven grandchildren. They all have fond memories of him playing Santa at Christmas, riding them on the tractor or Kubota, helping him feed the cows, going fishing, playing chess with him, arm wrestling, shooting BB guns, talking baseball, and maybe most of all listening to him tell stories. They all felt deeply loved by Poppy.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Ann Avera Webb.

Dr. Webb is survived by his wife, Joy Avery Webb of Moultrie; children, Russell York Webb and

Catalina of San Jose, California and their children, Sophie and Kenton; Allen Bradford "Brad"

Webb and Kimberly of Richmond, Indiana; Ada Wynn Owens and Graham of St. Simons, Georgia, their children, Arthur, Ansel, and Asa; Nolan Thomas Wynn and Leah of Atlanta, Georgia and their children, Sterling and Elora; 5 grand dogs, 6 grand cats, and 2 cows: Precious and Dorothy.

In lieu of flowers or food, donations can be made to the Georgia Conservancy — https://

georgiaconservancy.org/give/ Donation address Georgia Conservancy, 565 Northside Dr SW,

Suite B101, Atlanta, GA 30310

A memorial service will be held at 3:00 PM on November 22, 2026, at the home of Mrs. Webb.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Baker Funeral Home and Crematory.