Lillian Abbot Easterlin

Lillian Abbot Easterlin died at her home on Thursday, April 19 surrounded by her children and grandchildren.   The funeral service will be held on Sunday, April 22, at 3:00 p.m. at Louisville United Methodist Church with The Rev. Terri Degenhardt, vicar of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church, and The Rev. Billy Alford, rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, officiating.  Burial will be in the Louisville City Cemetery immediately following the service.   The family will receive visitors at 801 Mulberry Street on Saturday, April 21 from 4:00-8:00.

Born June 15, 1929, Mrs. Easterlin was a life-long resident of Louisville. She received her undergraduate degree and her Master’s of Social Work degree from The University of Georgia.   She held a number of both professional and volunteer positions, but the ones she was most passionate about involved children.  She was the first school social worker in Jefferson County when the schools desegregated in 1971; later she was the supervisor for social services for The Department of Family and Children Services; and she served as the director of Ogeechee Psychoeducational Center for emotionally disturbed children.  In 1977 St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church opened The Children’s Center under Mrs. Easterlin’s supervision as its volunteer director.  Many adults today still know her as Mima from their day care days.

Always involved in the community and church, Mrs. Easterlin was active in the civil rights efforts in Jefferson County and worked tirelessly on the behalf of those whose voices were not heard.  She served as Louisville’s first female city council person.  She was instrumental in establishing St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church in Louisville and served as a lay leader at both the local and the diocesan levels.  At the age of 79, she spent three months in Ghana working with children and women as a volunteer with Cross Cultural Solutions. 

An avid gardener, Mrs. Easterlin raised orchids, and until her death could be seen working in her flower bed on Mulberry Street.  Mrs. Easterlin was also an enthusiastic world traveler and enjoyed recounting her many trips abroad, insisting until her final days that she was ready to plan her next trip.  Most important, “Mima” reveled in being surrounded by her large, extended family, wherever they gathered—at home, in church, or at the family farm.

Mrs. Easterlin is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 54 years William Frank Easterlin, Jr., her brothers James C. Abbot and William Wright Abbot, Jr., and her parents W. Wright Abbot and Lillian Carswell Abbot.  She is survived by her four children Hulet (Bill) Kitterman, Bill (Tish) Easterlin, Lil (Marc Wilmoth) Easterlin, and Abbot (Laurie) Easterlin; twelve grandchildren Parker (Imali Sirisena) Kitterman, Margaret (Andy) Blagg, Mary Hulet  (Sam) Franklin, Will (Jill) Easterlin, Clare (Allen Shiver) Easterlin, Frank Easterlin, Eric (Jenny) Agel, Lilli Agel, Kate Agel, Ansley Easterlin, Julia Easterlin, and River Easterlin;  seven great grandchildren: Andrew and Caroline Blagg, Neela and Leo Kitterman, William and Ayla Rose Easterlin, and Samuel  Franklin; her sisters-in-law, Louise Abbot, Eleanor Abbot, and Marjorie Easterlin; and a host of nieces and nephews. 

Memorial donations may be made to The Louisville Garden Club, 1484 Bryant Drive, Louisville, Georgia, or to the outreach fund of St. Mary Magdalene Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 2, Louisville, Georgia.

Taylor Funeral Home and Cremation Care of Louisville will be in charge of arrangements.

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