Jimmie Ruth (Lewallen) Wood, age 83, of Clarkesville, GA, passed away peacefully on August 17, 2023.
Jimmie was born to J.T. and Lucille (Segars) Lewallen on October 31, 1939. She spent 65 years with the love of her life, Ralph Thomas Wood, taking up residence primarily in England, Wyoming, Arizona, and Georgia during their life-long marriage.
Ralph and Jimmie traveled the world, starting with his deployment in the Air Force shortly after their nuptials. They spent their time making their way to tropical and interesting destinations, bringing home meaningful artwork and figurines that told stories of their travels near and far.
Jimmie was a talented seamstress and owner/operator of Jimmie’s Custom Sewing in Kingman. Arizona for many years. She crafted her own line of jackets in a variety of patterns, made clothing from scratch for her loyal customers, and engineered countless unique items like vehicle dash covers to save them from cracking in the harsh sun.
In the 1980s. she worked with Mr. Butler to fashion a new line of sleeping bags called the Butler Bag. These innovative, all-season bags were made from a thick canvas in multiple layers which she designed to help withstand a variety of outdoor elements from -20 to 65 degrees.
With her mighty green thumb, Jimmie could take any struggling plant and make it miraculously flourish again. The Christmas cactus was her favorite, but one could tell by the greenery that graced every room each plant was equally loved.
She found joy in cooking for a crowd and spent her leisure time painting southwestern-style pottery, reading a book, or working on a quilt. In her retirement years, you could find her gazing through windows, enamored with the wildlife that surrounded her home in the North Georgia Mountains.
Jimmie was preceded in death by her parents J.T. and Lucille (Segars) Lewallen, her husband Ralph Thomas Wood, and her son-in-law David Knopp.
She is survived by her sister Jane (Doug) Hollified, of Clarkesville, GA; children Ann Knopp, of Seattle, WA; Judy Bailey of Buford, GA; Gail (Tony) Lorentz of Idaho Falls, ID; and Gary (Beth) Wood of Cornelia, GA; 16 grandchildren, 27 great-grandchildren, and three great-great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 3:00 pm. Sunday, August 20, 2023, at the Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel. Interment will follow in the Macedonia Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive friends on Sunday from 2:00 p.m. until 2:45 p.m. prior to the chapel service.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Whitfield Funeral Homes and Crematory, South Chapel, 1370 Industrial Boulevard, Baldwin, Georgia 30511. Telephone: 706-778-7123
