Mrs. Barbara Elliott Duke

Mrs. Barbara Anne Elliott Duke, age 83, died Sunday, October 18, 2015, at her residence. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, October 20, at 2:00 PM, at The Rock Baptist Church with Rev. Argin Floyd officiating. Burial will follow in South View Cemetery. The family of Mrs. Duke will receive friends Monday evening, October 19, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM, at Fletcher-Day Funeral Home. Mrs. Duke was born in Thomaston, September 14, 1932, the daughter of the late James Bailor Elliott and the late Addie Salter Elliott Holloway. Having lost her father before she was two, she was raised in Thomaston by her mother, Addie, and her step-father, the late Benjamin Gresham (B.G.) Holloway. Mrs. Duke was a lifelong member of the Rock Baptist Church, The Rock GA, where she and her husband, Nathan Edward (Ned) Duke, Sr., were married over 62 years ago. Mrs. Duke graduated from Yatesville High School in 1949 and she took an active role and great joy in contacting her classmates and planning their many reunions. Prior to her retirement in 1996, Mrs. Duke was employed as a bookkeeper for the Upson County Farm Bureau, Johnston Tractor Company, Georgia Farm Product Sales Corporation, and Edenfield Vending Sales & Service. She was an active member of the Ben Hill Homemakers Club, holding the offices of Secretary and President. For nearly 50 years, Mrs. Duke also worked side-by-side with her husband growing, gathering, selling, freezing, and canning many types of vegetables, grains, and livestock on their 200 acre farm. She was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother, always finding the time to bake a birthday cake, play games, or carve a pumpkin. She enjoyed decorating for the holidays, especially Christmas, when she displayed her elaborate Christmas Village. She generously shared her many creative talents with family and friends, whether it be making candy for a school carnival or sewing a prom dress. She also found time for her hobbies, raising large beds of beautiful, exotic Day Lilies and Bearded Iris, painting shirts or wood crafts, and needlepoint. Survivors include her husband. Nathan E. (Ned) Duke of Thomaston; her children: Mrs. Cynthia (Cindy) Duke Simpson (Garey) of Marietta, Mr. Nathan Edward (Eddie) Duke, Jr. (Teresa), Mr. Kelvin Benjamin Duke (Patsy), and Mrs. Carla Duke Smith (Wes), all of Thomaston. Also surviving are 10 grandchildren and 5 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her sister, Betty Joyce Elliott. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Rock Baptist Church, c/o Joyce Dawson, PO Box 82, The Rock, GA 30285. in memory of Mrs. Barbara Elliott Duke. Fletcher-Day Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.