George Donald Pulliam

George Donald Pulliam died on March 18, 2015, after several years of declining health. He was 79.

Don was born on Nov. 11, 1935, at Barksdale Field in Shreveport, LA. He was the son of Lt. Col. Geyser White Pulliam of Danville, Va., and Margaret Moore Pulliam of Greensboro, N.C. Don was pre-deceased by his parents; his brother, Geyser White Pulliam, Junior; and his sister, Lou Anne Pulliam Molin.

Don spent his formative years in Maxton, N.C., where he was a three-sport athlete at Maxton High School. He joined the United States Marine Corps before his eighteenth birthday in 1953, was appointed Sergeant in 1956 and served until 1957. After leaving the Marine Corp, he entered North Carolina State College and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 1961. The timing of his college graduation coincided with the United States’ commitment to space exploration, and Don spent the following two decades working as a project engineer in the aerospace industry.

He embarked on a second career in the late 1970s and earned a law degree at the John Marshall Law School in Atlanta in 1981. He practiced family and criminal law in Gainesville, Ga., until his retirement.

Don loved music, playing the guitar and banjo. A member of the General Society, Sons of the Revolution, he loved history and was the family genealogist. His favorite pet was a calico kitty who lived for twenty one years in his care.

Don is survived by his wife, Jennifer Murray Pulliam of Flowery Branch, Ga.; a son, Donald Edward Pulliam Kathleen Grace Pulliam of Wake Forest, N.C.; his daughter, Patricia Anne Conklin Colonel James Thomas Conklin of Woodbridge, Va.; his son, David White Pulliam Elizabeth Holloway Pulliam of Atlanta; step daughters, Eleanor Read Lawson of Gainesville, Ga., and Claire Vaughn Lawson of Cushing, Okla.

His seven grandchildren are Grace Li Pulliam, Millie Mei Pulliam, Charles Thomas Conklin, David White Pulliam Jr., John Patterson Pulliam, Isabelle Noelle Durden and Emily Vaughn Lawson.

A memorial service will held on Saturday, March 28, at 2 p.m. at St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church in Oakwood, Ga.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to his favorite charity: Georgia Sheriff’s Youth Homes at Post Office Box 1000, Stockbridge, GA 30281, 770-914-1076. boysranch@georgiasherriffs.org.

Cremation Society of Georgia, Atlanta