Charlotte Lou Guffey, 80, of Cumming, Ga., passed away Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020.
Charlotte was born in 1940 to the late Lewis and Roberta White. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her siblings, Lewis White Jr. and Maggie White; nephew, Joe White; and niece, Kathy Vanmeter.
She is survived by her loving husband, Tommy F. Guffey Jr.; children, Kenny (Karen) Adams, and Amanda (Chris) Miller; sister, Ruby Vanmeter; grandchildren, Starr (John) Smallwood, Kyle (Randi-lea) Lightsey, Brian (Kandis) Lightsey, Justin Adams, Carson Adams, and Mathew and Sean Miller; great-grandchildren, Emma and Brooks Smallwood, Parker and Reagan Lightsey, and Emery and Brice Lightsey; along with many other loving relatives and friends.
Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, in the Chapel of Ingram Funeral Home in Cumming, Ga.
The family received friends at the funeral home from noon until the hour of service.
A graveside service was held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Murphy. Pallbearers were Tim Adams, Richie Tatham, Carson Adams, Justin Adams, Chris Miller and Bill Gilroy
Ingram Funeral Home & Crematory, 210 Ingram Ave., Cumming, GA 30040, was in charge of arrangements.
A letter from Charlotte’s son
My mother quit high school in 11th grade at 16 years old to have me. She said it was like going to school. She went to the hospital at 9 in the morning and got out at three, but with a baby.
She was a Lincoln Mercury Cougar girl for the dealership in Decatur. Without a high school education, she applied to the Wall Street Journal’s Atlanta office and shockingly got a job. She taught herself to type with a piece of cardboard that she had drawn letters on.
She eventually took her profit sharing from the Wall Street Journal and used it to buy a flower shop that she had seen advertised in the Journal. She took that one store and turned it into five stores with the help of my stepfather, Tommy. They employed, give or take, about 30 people, myself and my wife included. Pretty amazing for someone who grew up poor, had to take care of her handicapped sister, and didn’t have a high school diploma.
Besides being the most independent person I ever knew, she was generous when she wanted to be. And if she wanted to help you, you didn’t say no. During the holidays when she was buying presents, she would give the cashier a $100 bill just because she loved helping people who helped themselves.
She started my cousin, Loretta, in the flower business, and she has made a livelihood as the head designer of a shop downtown.
She started our wholeseller, Mike, in the flower business, who, again, makes a living doing this to this very day.
She employed our friend, Pat, from a phone interview, who came all the way from Tupelo, Miss., to work for my mom and now has a thriving flower shop in Roswell.
She started me in the business, which has given me and Karen the life that we have today. We took over one of her shops. In fact, it is the shop right next door, in case you didn’t know.
Through my mother, our family was granted the greatest gift we could have ever imagined, and that is her husband, my father, Thomas Guffey. We call him Pop though. Pop was the best kind of surprise that I could have asked for. My mother only lasted as long as she did because of Pop. He also helped take care of my late aunt Maggie every step of the way. Maggie and my mom were a package deal, and Pop never wavered.
My mom and Pop were also an integral part of raising our kids. At that point, she began to become known as Meme. Meme, Pop and Maggie took care of the kids when Karen and I worked. They took them on countless vacations, they made the holidays the best part of the year, and they always were there to lend a helping hand. They would have done anything for any one of your kids, and I can never repay them for that.
All of this to say, my mother was very impressive. She was driven as hell and sweet as an angel. She was beautiful, always making sure her hair and makeup were just right. She was the woman that was in the women’s movement before it was cool. She just did it. She got things done and never apologized for any of it. She was quite the woman, and I thank you all for being here to celebrate her with me today.
Love, Kenny Adams
Townson-Rose Funeral Home, www.townson-rose.com, was in charge of local arrangements.