Georgia Lingle Wilson

Georgia Lee Mowery Lingle Wilson passed away on December 25, 2014 at the Piggott Hospital at the age of 91. She was born on October 10,1923 to the late Raymond Moses and Cora Hazel Stallings Mowery. She is survived by her daughters Linda Ann Lingle of Washington, D.C. and Ella Kaye Lingle Koonce of Charleston S.C., her daughter-in-law, Sharon Kay Seal Lingle and son-in-law, James Randall Koonce and granddaughter, Cara Elizabeth Lingle, a sister, Patsy Ann Mowery Dickerson (William Dickerson) of Piggott and two brothers, James Clifford Mowery (Vera Mae) of Piggott and Robert Wayne Mowery (Eleanor) of Canton, Georgia, a stepdaughter, Karen Brunson of Nachitoches, Louisiana and a stepson, Robin Wilson of West Memphis, Arkansas and many other relatives and friends. She was preceded in death by her husbands, John Ed Lingle, a WW II veteran and P.O.W. and James William Wilson, also a WWII Veteran, her son, John Raymond Lingle and a great-granddaughter, Ashton Lee Lingle. Ms. Wilson was a native of Piggott and she graduated from Piggott High School in 1941. She attended numerous educational seminars and courses sponsored by the US League of Savings Institutions, the Arkansas League of Savings Institutions and the Institute of Financial Education and various correspondence programs. She first began working at Piggott Federal Savings and Loan shortly after graduating from high school. She succeeded her aunt, Ms. Ella Mowery, who was a founder of Piggott Federal, to become the association's second President and Board of Directors Secretary. Piggott Federal is believed to be the first saving and loan institution in the United States to be founded by a woman and according to the US League of Savings Institutions, the only association with a history of only women managers until Ms. Wilson's retirement. When Piggott Federal merged with United Federal Savings and Loan she became a Divisional President, the position she held until she retired in 1989. She continued to serve on the United Federal Board of Directors for several years after her retirement. She was the oldest member of the Piggott General Baptist Church, having been a member for over 70 years. She sang in the choir and was active in the General Baptist Missionary Society for many years. Ms. Wilson was active in many other community and volunteer activities, particularly the Piggott and Arkansas VFW Auxiliary. She served in numerous offices on the local, state and national level of the VFW Auxiliary, which she joined in 1946. She also served as a docent at the Hemingway-Pfeiffer House, where she enjoyed recounting stories of meeting Ernest Hemingway during his visits to Piggott. She and John Ed were founding members of the Sugar Creek Country Club and she was a member at the time of her death. She also enjoyed traveling and did so extensively throughout the United States. One of her favorite volunteer activities was as an "Arkansas Traveler" for Presidential candidate Bill Clinton and she spent months in Charleston, S.C. with Linda and Kaye managing the Clinton Presidential campaign office in Charleston prior to the South Carolina Primary in 1992. During President Clinton's administration she spent several weeks as a White House volunteer in the social office and the children's correspondence unit. She was a White House guest at several events such as the Oval Office Saturday morning radio addresses and welcoming ceremonies for various heads of state. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, December 28, 2014 at 2:30 p.m. at the General Baptist Church in Piggott, Arkansas. Burial will be in Piggott Cemetery. Pallbearers are Mike Dickerson, Robert Lingle, John Crawford, Joe Mowery, Jerome Meade and Scott Sale. Hoggard & Sons Funeral Home of Piggott, Arkansas, is handling the arrangements. Visitation will be on Saturday, December 27, 2014 at 6 p.m. at Hoggard and Sons Funeral Home at 142 North 3rd Ave. in Piggott. The family suggests that memorials be made to Piggott General Baptist Church, 679 South Taylor, Piggott, Arkansas 72454, the Piggott VFW Auxiliary, #1 Veterans Memorial Dr. Piggott, Ark. 72454 or another Veterans' organization or the Arkansas State University Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum and Educational Center, 1021 W. Cherry St. Piggott, Ark. 72454.