John Dudley Cartledge, age 81, passed away at his residence in Chattanooga, Tennessee on September 5, 2019. Funeral services, under the direction of Striffler Hamby at Parkhill Cemetery, will take place at St. Luke United Methodist Church in Columbus, Georgia on Friday, September 13, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. with The Reverend Dr. Cindy Cox Garrard, The Reverend Dr. C. Mark Gooden, and The Reverend J. Robert Beckum officiating. A visitation will be held at the church immediately following the ceremony. Interment at Parkhill Cemetery will be private.
John was preceded in death by his parents Emmett Beard Cartledge, Jr. and Mary Louise Thames Cartledge. He was born in Columbus, Georgia on January 20, 1938 and lived in Columbus, Georgia until the end of 2016 when he and his wife Carolyn moved to their homes in Hiawassee, Georgia and Chattanooga, Tennessee.
John grew up in the First Presbyterian Church of Columbus. While a member of First Presbyterian Church, he was active in the Boy Scouts of America, was an Eagle Scout, and attended the Boy Scout Jamboree in California. In 1958, he and his parents joined St. Luke United Methodist Church where he was a member for more than 59 years. At St. Luke, John was a Sunday School teacher, member of the Jesus is Lord Sunday School Class, member of the Administrative Board, and the founder, along with Jose Bove, of the Higher Education Scholarship Fund. He served as chair of that committee for many years and was especially interested in supporting men and women who were preparing in seminaries to be in ministry in the United Methodist Church.
John attended Wynnton Elementary School and Columbus High School where he graduated as a member of the Class of 1955. John went to Emory University for five years where he completed an undergraduate degree and the first two years of law school. He passed the bar exam in 1960 and graduated from law school at the University of Georgia in 1961. When he passed the bar exam in 1960, he was, for a time, the youngest attorney in Georgia. While at Emory, he became a member of the Kappa Alpha Order and Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.
John served in the United States Army Reserves and joined his father's law practice which became the firm Cartledge, Posey, and Moye. In 1983, Harold Posey, Jim Moye and John then founded the firm Posey, Moye and Cartledge. John served as chair of the Real Property Section of the State Bar of Georgia from 1971-1972, president of the Columbus Lawyers' Club from 1979-1980 (now the Columbus Bar Association), and president for 25 years of the Attorneys’ Title Guaranty Fund, a state bar related title insurance company. John was also active in the Muscogee Lions Club where he served as president and in other offices. He was a charter member of the Chattahoochee River Club, a member and past chair of the Columbus Estate Planning Council, a member of the Historic Columbus Foundation, and a member of the Columbus Homebuilders Association. Additionally, he volunteered with the American Cancer Society and the Boy Scouts of America. He loved the practice of law and his clients.
John also loved the Georgia Bulldogs and was a season ticket holder and Bulldog Club member for more than 55 years. His hobbies, in addition to watching Georgia football, included fishing, collecting matchbooks, watching the Atlanta Braves, and gardening. He especially enjoyed fishing at Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia while staying at the family vacation home. He also enjoyed playing the guitar and singing songs he had sung with his high school friends, being with his dog Holly, and sharing his tomatoes and peppers with neighbors and friends.
John is survived by his wife of 45 years Carolyn McCain Cartledge and his three children Anne Thames Cartledge of Atlanta, Laurence Couch Cartledge of Los Angeles, and Lucy Cartledge Gates (William Franklin Gates IV) of Chattanooga. He is also survived by his five grandchildren Foster William Horton Coleman, Thomas Rutherford (Ford) Couch Coleman, Margaret Anne Coleman, William (Wills) Franklin Gates V, and Mary Louise (Isie) Gates.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be given to the Higher Education Scholarship Fund at St. Luke United Methodist Church (P.O. Box 867, Columbus, Georgia 31902) or the Hearts and Hands Fund of First-Centenary United Methodist Church (419 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37402).
