Winnie Mae Agnes Douglas Hargis, 85, of Gainesville, GA, ascended the stairs to heaven on January 16, 2023.
Winnie Mae was born in Allentown, PA September 3, 1937, and moved to Panama City, Florida, at one year old. She grew up in “the Cove” and graduated from Bay High School in 1955. Winnie Mae graduated from Florida State University in ’59 and was a proud member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. It was at FSU in her Senior year she found her life calling as an advocate. After finding out she had a birth defect that fused the bones of her left ear, leaving her hearing impaired, she was told she was not capable of being an elementary school teacher. Winnie Mae advocated for herself, fought the FSU education department, which did not want to allow her to graduate, and won by earning a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education.
In September of 1959, Winnie Mae was back in Bay County, FL, teaching first grade, when she met another first-year high school teacher and coach from Clarksville, TN, Dean Hargis. On February 14, 1960, Dean proposed, and they married on April 19, 1960. Their spring break honeymoon was to Clarksville, TN, where Winnie Mae would meet her new Hargis family for the first time. In June of 1960, the couple packed their two cars and moved to McHenry, IL – where teachers earned double that of Florida. In 1962, the couple almost divorced on the night Dean brought home an audiologist to fit Winnie Mae for her first hearing aid – she hid wearing a hearing aid for the next 26 years.
In 1967, with three children under four years of age, the Hargis’ moved to Atlanta – one year in Decatur while Dean taught/coached at Bass High School and then settling in Chamblee in 1968 when Dean took the role of head football coach at Marist School (‘68 – ‘85). Winnie Mae was a great wife, mother and a woman set on having her own identity. She taught kindergarten at Chamblee Methodist Church; was an accounting clerk at E.K. Williams; was a licensed Insurance Agent; created a women’s professional directory in the late ‘70s; and was “Winnie Post” customer support at Your’s Truly which was advertised in every Women’s Day magazine. While being a professional woman, she was also a mother that put her children and family first. Family dinner was always ready at 6:00; the children were at school on time, had lunches, and never missed a football, baseball, softball, or orchestra/band practice or game. As a wife, she attended every Marist Varsity football game from ‘68 till ‘85 and hosted the coaching staff in their home each Friday night for a ‘post-game meal’ watching local high school scores on channel 2, 5, or 11 on the family’s black & white TV. Frequently, Winnie Mae’s parents would bring coolers of oysters from the Gulf Coast to enjoy after the football victory!
In 1988, Winnie Mae began her affiliation with Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), formerly called Self-Help for Hard of Hearing (SHHH). She served as President of the Atlanta Hears Chapter in ‘89 and ’90; was Georgia State Coordinator 1990-2001; and was a member of the National Board of Trustees for many years. Following her life-calling, she was invited to be in the first group trained on the Americans with Disabilities Act and attended a Celebration of the 4th Anniversary of The Americans with Disabilities Act hosted by President Bill Clinton held at The White House on July 26, 1994.
In 1993, Dean and Winnie, now empty nesters, moved to Dalton and loved living on Crow Valley Road with a view of Rocky Face off their front porch and their neighbor’s horses on either side. Winnie Mae became a GA State Registered General Civil Mediator. Using her unique knowledge of ADA regulations and mediation training, at 60 began a 15-year career mediating for Georgia county magistrate and juvenile courts, the Atlanta District Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Office, the US Postal Service and US Department of Justice.
Winnie Mae was always an aspiring writer and wrote a weekly column called ACCESSING BARRIERS for the Whitfield-Murray Advertiser newspaper from ‘92 until 2004. She stopped writing when the love of her life, Dean, died from a tragic massive heart attack. Winnie Mae did not like her return to single life, but her friendships with amazing groups of women grew even stronger. Never one to sit idle, these women became Winnie Mae’s refuge with weeklong trips to Panama City Beach, League of Women Voters meetings, annual trips to the HLAA convention, and very loud (so they could hear each other) dinners in any restaurants in North Georgia.
In 2012, Winnie Mae decided to move closer to her children – moving to Gainesville, GA, to be with her son Jay and his wife Samantha and son Benjamin. She got involved in Gainesville Newcomer’s Club and NGMC Mended Hearts group and was an active member of Brenau University Learning & Leisure Institute (BULLI) – many times leading a course or bringing hearing loss experts to come to speak to fellow Gainesville Seniors.
All these amazing professional accomplishments only complement her lifelong baptism and communion with Jesus Christ. Winnie Mae grew up in the Methodist Church in Panama City, Florida. Dean and Winnie Mae joined the Presbyterian Church in McHenry, IL, because Winne Mae had a student whose father was the pastor at the local church (who later became the God Father of their second son, Wade). In Chamblee, they were members of Providence Presbyterian Church on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road where Winnie Mae would teach Sunday School, become a Deacon and an Elder. When they moved to Dalton, Dean and Winnie Mae joined ChristChurch Presbyterian (then, First Presbyterian Dalton). Winnie Mae shared her mediation skills assisting the church elders working together to become their current organization of ChristChurch Presbyterian. Winnie Mae’s favorite service was the Kirkin of the Tartans, where her Douglas Tartan would be proudly displayed.
Winnie Mae’s life was blessed the past five years with the love and care of the women that work for A Helping Hand in Gainesville, GA. These women were drivers, companions, caregivers, and extended family. Winnie Mae treated them as students, daughters, and fellow advocates – their love, patience, and tremendous care allowed Winnie Mae to live independently until she was picked up by Dean for their eternal date in heaven.
Winnie Mae was preceded in death by her parents John William Douglas and Emma “Maudie” Gerlach and the love of her life and husband of 44 years, W. Dean Hargis.
She is survived by her beloved siblings George Douglas (Linda) and Frances Powers. Winnie Mae is also survived by her sons John “Jay” Hargis (Samantha), Wade Hargis (Lori) and daughter DeAnn Hargis-Kaminski (Mark), and five grandchildren: Benjamin Hargis; Hunter Hargis (Sammi) and Hailey Hargis; and Welsey Kaminski and Bradley Kaminski. Winnie Mae’s first great-grandchild, Haden Wesley Hargis, was born on January 17th to Hunter and Sammi Hargis.
A simple chapel service will be held on January 28 at ChristChurch Presbyterian Dalton.
You may sign the online guestbook or leave a condolence at www.wardsfh.com.
Ward’s Funeral Home of Gainesville is honored to serve the family of Winnie Mae Hargis.
