CORDELE – Harold E. Waldrip, 86, died Tuesday, April 5, 2016 at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital. Funeral services will be held at 5 p.m., Thursday, April 7, 2016 in the chapel of Hughes & Wright Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Sunnyside Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home prior to the service beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Harold was a proud native of Hatley, Ga. He was the son of Joe Brown Waldrip and Dessie Wilbanks Waldrip. He met the love of his life, Hazel Brock, in 1950 and they married the following year. They were each other’s life companion for 64 years until her death in 2015. He is also preceded in death by his sister, Vivian Maddox.
Harold was well known in the community as the owner of Harold’s Phillips 66, Harold’s Service Station, Harold’s Shell Station and Harold’s Amoco.
As an accomplished business man, he was the first Amoco Oil Dealer in Georgie to have met the 1 million, 1.5 million and 2 million gallons in sales. Mr. Waldrip also built up one of the largest wrecker fleets in the southeast, having nine wreckers enabling the towing for small passenger vehicles to the largest semitrailers. He was a member of Cordele First United Methodist Church. Above all, Harold enjoyed spending time with family.
He is survived by his sons: Harold Lee Waldrip of Arabi and Ronald Joe (Dawn) Waldrip of Rochelle; his sister: Joann Phillips of Cordele; his grandchildren: Dallas (Renea) Waldrip, Brittany Waldrip, Dustin (Beth) Waldrip, Alston Waldrip, Tyler Waldrip and Taylor Hughes; his great-grandchildren: Reece Roobin and Wesley Waldrip; his brother-in-law: Allen Maddox; and several nieces and nephews.
Online condolences may be left at www.hughesandwright.com. Hughes & Wright Funeral Home, Inc. is entrusted with these arrangements.