Georgia Alberta Young Rhoten, 94 years old, of Ripley, Ohio, died at the Ohio Valley Manor Nursing and Rehabilitation Center near Ripley on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. She was born on June 25, 1927 in Ripley, Ohio to the late Ralph Raymond and Leora Etta Rishforth Young. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her brothers Darrell Richard Young, Robert Paul Young and two little brothers. Sisters Alice Ann (Bill) Nash and Nancy Carol Young Thorton. Brothers and sisters-in-law, James and Stella Lou Hockman and Delmar and Bonnie Haines. Son and daughter-in-law, Dennis Ray and Marilyn Herrell. Daughter-in-law, Darlene McCall Herrell. Grandsons, Christopher David Herrell and Jamie Dwight Herrell. Nephew Ronald Jay Nash and niece Cassandra Nash Hernandez.
She leaves behind her 25-year-old loving husband, Francis Rhoten. Her daughter Angela Kay Herrell Nuremberg and her son-in-law Michael Nuremberg.
Five grandchildren: Jody (Jessica) Herrell, Jason Herrell, Jessica Denise Herrell, Rhiannon Grace Nuernberg and Elizabeth Shannon Nuernberg.
Seven great-grandchildren: MacKenzie, Jayce, Nathan, Cossem, Kaycee, Alyssa and Addison.
Sister-in-law Betty Young. Nephews, Bill Nash, Danny Justus, Will Nash, David Skelton, Andrew Roof, James Bailey and Joe Nash. Nieces, Melissa Young, Brenda Bailey, Susan Bailey and Elizabeth Nash Schmidt. She is also survived by her beloved “other children” Larry, Dick and Maribeth Kratzer, Judith Kratzer Edgington and Sara Vance-Wadell.
Georgia (better known as Georgie or Bertie) was known and loved throughout the Brown County community. She was born at home on Old Doc Tyler’s farm on North Pole Road. When she was 10, her family moved to Main Street in Ripley. At the age of 14, she began her first job as a waitress in Dick Finney’s restaurant, in the diner behind the Ripley Library. This is where her lifelong love of work and public service began. Shortly after graduating from Ripley Union High School in 1945, she left Ripley during World War II to serve as a secretary at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton. After the war ended, she took a job at Longview Asylum in Cincinnati.
After getting married and starting her family, she returned to Ripley never to leave. She owned and ran Herrell’s Truck Stop Restaurant, the same restaurant she started at in the 1960s when she was 14, where she was known for her homemade donuts and chocolate cake. After leaving the restaurant, she was a long-time employee of the Ripley Gas Company in addition to her longstanding work as the Union Township Clerk. After retiring and being unable to quit her job entirely, she returned to her favorite part-time job as a secretary in Tom Zachman’s law firm. When she finally retired from work, Georgia spent many happy hours with her family, watching their hummingbirds in the summer, making perfect grilled cheese sandwiches for her twin grandchildren, learning about the wonders of Facebook and watching her favorite comedian, Steve Harvey.
Georgia was ever involved in their community. In addition to being a Boy Scout cave guide, she was a member of Eastern Star. She was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church and attended the Ripley Centenary Methodist and Trinity Methodist in Maysville. She had a true love and belief in God and would proudly share about her uncle Rev J. Otis Young, who was nominated as Methodist Bishop, and her cousin Carlton Young, who served as the editor and songwriter for the United Methodist Hymnal.
Aside from her chocolate cake, Georgia was probably best known in the community for her piano and organ playing. She served as the organist for Ripley United Methodist Church and loaned her talent on the piano to play at Ripley Southern Baptist Church, Beebe Chapel CME Church, and St. Michael’s Christmas Services as needed. She never turned down requests to play the piano at weddings, funerals, and community events. Her favorite music partners were Dorothy Carr, Shirley Faris Gleason, Denny Keller and Phil Germann, the core group of all Ripley community musicals in the 1970s and 80s. Her favorite memory was a piano that was placed on the back of a truck so she could play for the community choir while she drove around town on a Rankin Days moving van. Her love for music has never waned and she instilled that love into the lives of her children and grandchildren. She considered her ability to sing and play multiple instruments to be her proudest achievement.
Although her family persuaded her to make many excursions with mountain and beach views, she always preferred the hill and river views of her home. May she enjoy the view from heaven forever and rejoin her beloved parents, brothers and sisters.
The funeral will take place on Monday, December 6, 2021 at 1:00 p.m. at the Cahall Funeral Home in Ripley, Ohio. Pastor Eric Patterson will take over the office. The tour takes place on Monday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The burial takes place after the funeral service in Ash Ridge Cemetery.