Mattie Evelyn was born January 7, 1924 in Gordon County, Georgia, a daughter of the late Jesse Benjamin and Annie Ray Findley Roland. She was also preceded in death by her husband, Willard Hightower and her brothers, John, Carl, Edwin and Bob Roland and her sisters, Annie Bell Wood and Cora Barnes.
Mattie Evelyn was an avid outdoorswoman, she loved to hunt, make a garden and mow her lawn. She was a carpenter by trade and was very proud of the fact that she was the first woman in the state of Georgia to be a member the Carpenters Union. She was a member of the Carpenters Union Local #74 in Rome, Georgia.
She is survived by her two dogs, whom she loved very much, her golden retriever, Sandy and her very feisty feist, Junior; her sister-in-law, June Godfrey of Fairmount; several nieces and nephews.
Services to celebrate the life of Mrs. Mattie Evelyn Hightower were held Sunday, September 23, 2012 at 2 p.m. at Ponders Fairmount Chapel with Reverend Keith Willard officiating. She was laid to rest beside her beloved husband at the Pleasant Grove (Ryo) Baptist Church Cemetery with Lanier Roland, Martin Shepard, Jeff Roden, J.D. Patterson, Jerry Barnes and Bobby Hughes serving as pallbearers.
The family received friends at Ponders Fairmount Chapel from 6-9 p.m. Saturday and after 11 a.m. Sunday until the service hour.
Condolences may be expressed to the family at www.pondersfuneralhome.com. Arrangements by locally owned and locally operated, Ponders Fairmount Chapel, 2566 Hwy 411 Fairmount, GA 30139, 706-625-7577 www.selectedindependentfuneralhomes.org and www.ogr.org.