Mildred Layton

Mrs. Mildred Price Layton, age 101, of Sandersville died on Saturday morning, June 25, 2022, at her residence.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A.M., Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at May and Smith Funeral Home Chapel in Sandersville, with burial at Jackson’s Baptist Church Cemetery.  Reverend Mike Jones and Ken Vance will officiate.  Pallbearers are Dean Davis, Bill Hartley, Roan Miller, Ken Vance, Franklin Wood, Ron Wallace, Russell Sheppard and Trevor Sheppard.  The family will greet friends at May and Smith Funeral Home from 10:00 A.M. until the hour of service.

Mrs. Layton was born on May 21, 1921, the tenth of eleven children, to Willie Cyrus Price and Ada Bush Price.  She attended Beulah Baptist Church until she went to college.   She grew up during the depression, so there was little money to go around with so many children.  Mrs. Price died when Mildred was about ten, so her older sisters raised her. She attended Harrison Elementary School and Wrightsville High School and graduated valedictorian of her class.  She went to Brewton Parker college and worked in the cafeteria to pay tuition.  She went to Tift College and received her bachelor’s degree in english and education.  She moved to Atlanta and worked for American bakeries as an accountant. In 1944 she met and married Charles Vernon Layton, a talented artist, and they moved to the Riddleville Road home where she resided the rest of her life.  In 1945 she began teaching at Riddleville Elementary School where she taught for eight years, the last three she served as principal.  She taught at Sandersville Elementary School, mostly the fifth and sixth grade, and then at T. J. Elder School.  She said she never wanted to be anything but a teacher and her students loved and respected her even to this day.  While teaching she commuted to Milledgeville, to the Women’s College and received her master’s degree in Education and her sixth-year certificate in education.  She retired from teaching in 1986 after over 38 years of teaching.

Mrs. Layton was an excellent wife and mother.  She was a dedicated and faithful member of the Jackson’s Baptist Church.  She began playing the piano there in 1944 and later taught herself to play the organ.  She played with a handicap after losing the ends of two fingers in a mower accident.  When Mildred was not teaching or making sour creme pound cakes, she preferred being out of doors.  Neighbors driving by saw her on her lawn mower or her 1952 Ford tractor.  There was no problem she would not tackle with great determination.  Mildred was a remarkable woman, faithful to her church, full of love and generosity for her family, friends and students.  She lived a full and happy life.  She passed away on June 25 at her home after a long battle with Alzheimer’s and she died peacefully in her sleep.

She is survived by her daughter, Norma Layton Steele, and her son Benjamin Gordon Layton, both of Sandersville, her very dear friend and longtime caregiver, Sue Anglin.

The family suggest that donations be made to the Jackson’s Baptist Church, 10502 Old Savannah Road, Sandersville GA, 31082

May and Smith Funeral Directors is in charge of these arrangements. Send an online condolence by visiting www.mayandsmithfuneraldirectors.com