Georgia Elizabeth Jeffords Elmore, 99, widow of Robert Carroll Elmore, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 1, 2023 at Covenant Place Nursing Center.
She and Carroll were married 25 days shy of turning 60 when he died on June 26, 2011. He was the love of her life.
Born in Florence on December 18, 1923, she was a daughter of the late Samuel King Jeffords Sr. and Josie Mae Smith Jeffords and a stepdaughter of Mary Juanita Sumner Jeffords. Mrs. Elmore was a member of the First Baptist Church of Sumter, having been a member of the Elliott Baptist Church while living in Elliott. She graduated from Elliott High School. She had worked as a telephone operator for Southern Bell Telephone until she became pregnant with her daughter. She then worked for her mother-in-law, Johnsie Smith Elmore, who founded and owned Jo-El Sandwich Co. Georgia later purchased Jo-El Sandwich Co. and ran the company for 19 years until she retired and sold it to Perfection Bakery. Georgia loved gardening and baking and decorating cakes for family birthday parties.
She is survived by her daughter, Josie Mae Elmore of Sumter; a sister, Mary Jeffords Hoyt of Sumter; a brother, Arthur Sumner Jeffords (Jean) of Knoxville, Tennessee; a sister-in-law, Jean Elmore Smith of Charleston; brother-in-law Len Caughman of Bishopville; sister-in-law, Francis Smith Norris (Edward) of Greeleyville; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews as well as great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews.
Her parents predeceased her; stepmother; brothers and sisters-in-law, Samuel King Jeffords Jr. (Margaret) and William Quincy Jeffords Sr. (Hazel); brother-in-law George Edward Smith and Major Richard Alan Hoyt; sister-in-law, Virigina Elmore Caughman; and brothers and sisters-in-law, Roland Goff Elmore Jr. (Carolyn), Stephen Goff Elmore (Delores) and Vivian Smith Davis (Olin).
The family would like to thank the staff at Covenant Place Nursing Center for their kind care of Georgia for nearly two years and the staff at Tuomey Hospice for the past four months.
Funeral service will be held at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at Sumter Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home on Wednesday from 1 to 2 p.m.
Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or to the Connie Maxwell Children's Home, 810 Maxwell Ave., Greenwood, SC 29626, where her mother Josie and uncle Ira Smith lived and were raised .
Online condolences may be expressed at www.sumterfunerals.com.
Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad St., Sumter, is in charge of arrangements, (803) 775-9386.
