Celestine sibley obituary format

  • The collection consists of the papers of Celestine Sibley, of Atlanta, Georgia, from ca.
  • Sibley died of cancer at age 85 in 1999 after more than five decades of writing not only about homespun pleasures but also keeping an eye on statehouse.
  • This in-depth and chronological selection takes the best of the best from Celestine Sibley's days as a beat reporter.

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    Susan Bazemore brushed away a tear Thursday as she was presented with a plaque inducting her late mother Celestine Sibley into the prestigious Georgia Women of Achievement.

    Bazemore wasn’t alone.

    More than 300 attendees, including Sibley’s family and friends were there to help reflect on the iconic Atlanta Constitution columnist and reporter who passed away at age 85 in 1999.

    Also in the 2010 Georgia Women induction class at ceremonies held at Porter Auditorium on the campus of Wesleyan College in Macon: education advocate Mary Ann Rutherford Lipscomb (1848-1918) and State Bar of Georgia “first lady” Madrid Loyd Williams (1911-1993).

    Before the tears, however, was the laughter Bazemore generated in the auditorium during a video tribute to her mother when she discussed being a frequent topic (along with her brother Jimmy and sister Mary) in Celestine’s popular Constitution column.

    “It was a nightmare!,” Bazemore proclaimed. “Horrible, just horrible. You’d go to schoo

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    “Only a fool would let herself get mushy-headed and sentimental over a maple tree,” she wrote. “I was reluctant to do anything about those trees except walk around under them and urge them to get a grip on themselves.”

    Sibley died of cancer at age 85 in 1999 after more than five decades of writing not only about homespun pleasures but also keeping an eye on statehouse politicians and cranking out gritty courtroom drama.

    ExploreLearn more about journalist and author Celestine Sibley, including links to popular columns that she wrote

    Born near Pensacola, Fla., she grew up near Mobile, Ala., and was hired at The Atlanta Constitution in 1941. Three years later she began writing columns and didn’t stop until shortly before her death, also finding time to write magazine articles and more than two dozen books. Twice widowed and the mother of three and grandmother of eight at the time of her passing, Sibley died at her Dog Island, Fla., beach house, less than a month after her final column

  • celestine sibley obituary format

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    “Good,” I answered. “But why are you asking?”

    “I thought I’d kommission you to do mine,” she cheerfully replied.

    A sick feeling in my stomach, I repeated my question.

    “Well, I went to the doctor yesterday and he said inom have a little brain tumor,” she answered in the same dismissive tone she might have used to tell me about a trip to the dentist.

    It was pure Celestine. Matter of fact, no maudlin tears, no feeling sorry for herself, no request for sympathy. After I promised I would do her funeral, she declared that we weren’t going to talk about it anymore.

    Credit: COPY

    Credit: COPY

    And we never did. If I tried to bring it up, to ask if she had any favorite Scripture readings or hymns, her reply was always, “You’ll know what to do.” The gods time inom talked to her, three days before she died, she told me, “I’m counting on you to take care of things.”

    And so, on Aug. 18, 1999, three days after her death, I did as she had asked, “taking care of things” in a funeral that was at