Arthur C Yarbrough

Arthur C. Yarbrough Jr. — college professor, Naval officer, church pianist, beloved uncle, generous friend — died of natural causes Aug. 11 at his home in Washington County. He was 93.  A graveside memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 29, at Mineral Springs Baptist Church in Mitchell. A memorial service will be held on a later date at Trinity Independent Church (the former Mitchell Methodist), where he was a member for 30 years.

Yarbrough was born on June 12, 1928, the third child of Arthur Yarbrough Sr. and Estelle Davis Yarbrough. He grew up on the family farm during the Depression and war years, a time when the road out front was unpaved and there was no electricity or indoor plumbing. Although he never enjoyed farm chores, he remained a country boy at heart for the rest of his life.

He attended Washington County public schools and left home in 1945 for Georgia Teachers College (now Georgia Southern) in Statesboro. His teaching career began at O’Keefe High School in Atlanta but was soon interrupted by two years in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. After his discharge, he remained in the Naval Research Reserve for years.

He resumed his career at O’Keefe and then moved on to Emory’s Oxford College near Covington. He continued teaching in Nashville, where he earned a master’s degree at Peabody College (now part of Vanderbilt University). In 1957, he took a job as a chemistry professor at Towson State College (now Towson University) in Baltimore. He stayed for almost 35 years, earning a reputation as an academic steel magnolia whose polite Southern demeanor could fool students into thinking he wouldn’t flunk them. He would. Through those years, he split his time between apartments in Maryland and his home in the Georgia countryside. Up there, he was known as Art. Back home, he was often known by his childhood nickname: Moon.

When he retired in 1991, he briefly considered moving to the Georgia coast or settling in Atlanta, where his older sister and her family lived. But he felt the powerful tug of home and returned to the Yarbrough farm in Washington County. He spent the rest of his days tirelessly remodeling his house and haunting every country cooking place in east central Georgia. He was a breakfast regular at the Jet store in Gibson. He also pursued his hobbies: round dancing, collecting antiques, and playing the piano. He was particularly happy to play Sunday services for years at the Methodist church in Mitchell.

He is survived by six nieces and nephews: Dyann Yarbrough of Gibson, Chuck (Lucy) Auchmutey of Acworth, Tommy (Janice) Yarbrough of Mitchell, Jim (Pam) Auchmutey of Atlanta, Dawn Brooks of Columbus, and Susan Auchmutey of Stone Mountain, as well as seven

great nieces and nephews: Jamey Yarbrough, Johanna Pittman, Michael Yarbrough, Sarah Brooks, Ben Brooks, Marisa Nease, and Simon Brooks.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations to the Methodist Home for Children & Youth, P.O. Box 2525, Macon, Ga. 31203, https://www.themethodisthome.org/donate/ ; to the Sandersville/Washington County Animal Shelter, 430 Beck Blvd, Sandersville, Ga. 31082, https://sandersvilleanimalshelter.com/donations ; or to a veterans support group of your choosing.

May & Smith Funeral Directors is in charge of these arrangements. Online condolences can be made at www.mayandmsithfuneraldirectors.com