Mable Fleming Corbitt, a follower of Jesus, died peacefully at the age of 98 on May 20, 2019, after a long, productive life.
Mable was born November 30, 1920, in Andalusia, Ala., the seventh of nine children. She grew up in New Brockton, Ala., and finished high school in Brinson, Ga., before entering Andrew College, where she majored in Speech.
After graduating, she went to Willacoochee to teach third grade in 1939. There she met Wilbur Corbitt, whose family were long-time residents of the area.
Wilbur and Mable were married in 1942 in Miami, where he was working for the Army Corps of Engineers. Wilbur stayed with the Corps of Engineers throughout the war, and they moved from Miami to Boca Raton, Jacksonville, and Savannah for various assignments.
In Savannah in 1946, their first baby, a son, died during delivery. The couple then moved back to Willacoochee to start their business, Perkins-Corbitt Hardware, later Corbitt Hardware and Furniture.
They raised their children, Larry, Marsha, and Chris, in Willacoochee, where Mable was a leader in the community and the Methodist Church. For a time, she ran Mable’s Gift Shop in a corner of the hardware store. It was a great place to buy wedding and shower gifts — at “Mable’s, Of Course.”
Mable made a good life with whatever came her way. Over the years she began to teach Bible studies and in later years in Willacoochee, she taught Revelation many times. Always creative, she also wrote poetry, painted, and sang solos. She had a reputation as an excellent hostess and cook (especially her caramel cake) and was an avid reader. She adored her granddaughters who came every summer to “Camp Willacoochee,” where Mable taught them to fish, paint, and tell stories. She remained a devoted fan of the Atlanta Braves throughout her later years.
Wilbur died in 1993, and, when she could no longer drive due to macular degeneration, Mable moved to Presbyterian Village in Austell in 1997. There she again made many rich friendships among the residents and staff.
She volunteered in the nursing home at Presbyterian Village and had tea parties in her apartment for nursing home patients. Over the years at the Village, she taught exercise and gave recitations, even having lost her sight.
Wherever she went, Mable made deep friendships. She was outgoing, funny, compassionate, optimistic, and kind. She loved people and they loved her. An example to everyone of practical ways to follow Jesus, she glorified God by loving and caring for her neighbors and family.
Survivors include her sister, Majean Browning (Ivan); children, Larry (Beth), Marsha (Dave Wehr), and Chris; grandchildren, Emily Giordano (Robb), Anne Corbitt (Matt Weiss), Lauren Elizabeth Thorne (Jay); great grandchildren, Tuttle, Maggie, and Jacob Thorne, and Gwen and Silas Giordano; many nieces and nephews and countless friends.
Funeral services will be held at the Willacoochee United Methodist Church on Saturday, May 25, at 2 p.m. with visitation in the church Family Life Center at 1 p.m. A memorial service is planned on Friday, May 31, at 2 p.m. at the Village Center at Presbyterian Village in Austell, Ga.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to one of these organizations:
Willacoochee United Methodist Church
P.O. Box 365
Willacoochee, GA 31650
Caring Hands Fund
Presbyterian Homes of Georgia
P.O. Box 957267
Duluth, GA 30095