It is with much sadness that we inform you of the deaths of some very special bird hunters.
Rodney Ware died of a heart attack in North Carolina. Rodney and I were associates in the financial service industry in Atlanta prior to his returning to North Carolina to be nearer to his family but while living in Atlanta he was a frequent visitor to Redbone where he enjoyed guiding quail hunts and helping with our dove shoots.
Bob Watt was a great family man and a successful business man with close family ties to Bob Woodruff of Coca Cola fame. Bob grew up in Thomasville and always had a bird dog or two. Bob would bring his boy-hood friends from Thomasville and used his own dog while hunting at Redbone. One day I asked him if he would guide some parties for us. He quickly agreed. Some of Bob’s business friends would ask me to have Bob guide their party. Great great guy.
Gene Hardwick was a retired Bell South executive, a former Lamar County Commissioner, Chairman of the Barnesville, Lamar County Republican Party (I was Vice Chairman) and one avid Redbone dove hunter. He, too, died of a heart attack back in May. He, too, was a super guy.
Many of our hunters will fondly remember Mose McCall. Mose enjoyed a long and distinguished career with GA Department of Natural Resources, where he was the manager of both the solid waste management section and the hazardous waste management section prior to being promoted to Deputy Commissioner of GA D.N.R. Mose was one of the most avid hunters I have ever known. He has been responsible for much of the wild game we have eaten at our annual wild game suppers. He has guided quail hunts and helped with our dove suppers over the last 35 years. Mose was distinguished by his gray ponytail, on Mose it looked good. Mose died of lung cancer in June. I was humbled but honored when he asked me to speak at his memorial service.
Dave Preston was a retired pharmaceutical scientist, an avid dove hunter and especially enjoyed our wild game dinners.
Charles Yarbrough was a long time Redbone quail hunter and even after losing his voice would still take his dog Nell to the field and with the able help of “Shorty” Smith and a couple of Shorty’s dogs would enjoy a great day in the field.
2016 was Brent Bennett’s first year of shooting doves at Redbone, but he was one of the first hunters to sign up for our 2017 season. Unfortunately, he drowned while fishing in a trout stream in Montana.
We mourn the loss of these great hunter-friends, but we thank our Lord and master for having them be a special part of our lives.