Michael Warren Ginn, 69, of Sandersville, Georgia, passed away Saturday, October 7, 2023, at his home. A memorial service honoring his life will be held on Tuesday, October 10, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at the First Baptist Church in Sandersville, Georgia with Brother Lee Lacey officiating. Visitation will be held on Monday, October 9th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. in the courtyard of the First Baptist Church of Sandersville.
Michael is predeceased by his parents, Lucy Swift Reese Ginn and David Rudolf Ginn; brother-in-law Glynn Robinson; and sister-in-law Anne Jones. His family includes his wife, Jean; three daughters and sons-in-law, Laura Mason and her husband John of Sandersville, Heather Pope and her husband Mike of Amelia Island, FL, Jennifer Law and her husband Alan of Yulee, FL; six grandchildren, Noah and Christian Mason, Jackson and Davis Pope and Dashton and Grace Law; sisters Deborah Cain (Tommy) of Sandersville and Nancy Pearson (Casey) of Lourinha, Portugal; stepmother Faye Ginn of Sandersville; brothers-in-law William Jackson of Perry and George Jackson (Carolyn) of Macon; and many cousins, nieces and nephews.
Michael was born April 9, 1954 in Sandersville. He was a lifelong Christian, beginning in the cradle role at First Baptist Church Sandersville, where he committed his life to Christ at a young age and became a member of the church. After graduating from Washington County High School in 1972, Michael attended Georgia Southern University on a diving scholarship, where he received his bachelor’s degree in geology in 1976.
On April 8, 1978, he married Jean Jackson of Wrightsville. They lived briefly in Atlanta while he received a scholarship to Georgia Tech and earned his Master of Science in Material Science Engineering in 1980. They lived briefly in Dublin and then in Wrightsville. During his time in Wrightsville from 1981 to 1992, he became a member of First Christian Church, where he was a Sunday school teacher, led the youth group programs with his wife, Jean, and was chairman of the deacons. After returning to Sandersville in 1992, he transferred his membership back to First Baptist.
After graduating from graduate school, Michael joined Nord Kaolin Company as assistant manager of mining, exploration and research. In 1985, he moved to ECC International Americas, where he held various positions in research, process and product development, and management. In 1995, Michael Ginn founded Mineral Technology, an independent laboratory and pilot plant focused on minerals, metals and hard materials. In 1998, he founded Ginn Technology Group, a coalition of private mineral technology, energy and environmental companies including Mineral Resources, Ginn IP, Ginn Ventures and EarthCircle Technologies (ECT). Focused on biominerals, biomineral waste streams and geopolymers, ECT is the first company in the world to develop technology that closes the loop on paper and carpet recycling. Its intellectual property portfolio includes over 20 U.S. patents and 60 worldwide patents in the areas of superconducting magnetic separation, exothermic waste streams, thermal processing of minerals, capillary filtration and mineral separation/concentration, to name a few. He served on several Georgia Tech boards and held many leadership positions with professional groups, including president of the Georgia Geological Society and chair of the Georgia Chapter of SME. He is an emeritus member of the Advisory Board of the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2011, Michael was inducted into the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni.
An avid supporter and encourager of his children, Michael and his eldest daughter founded the Brentwood Cross Country Team in the mid-1990s, with Michael serving as coach for several years. A few years later, they founded the Brentwood swim team with his youngest daughter.
Michael enjoyed playing golf and staying active, including participating in many triathlons. He loved historic architecture, successfully restored several old houses and founded a successful reclaimed lumber company in the 1990s. He enjoyed collecting antiques and pottery, finding arrowheads, shark teeth and other fossils and artifacts, constantly learning and educating himself on interesting topics and sharing his knowledge with others, being in the water, nature and the world to travel. He particularly enjoyed being with his grandchildren.
Donations may be made to First Baptist Church Sandersville for the renovation of the children’s wing at FBC Sandersville.
Condolences may be expressed online at mayandsmithfuneraldirectors.com
Sandersville Funeral Directors May and Smith are in charge of this arrangement.
