Jerelyn "Jerry" Johnson Caskin

Athens, GA - Jerelyn “Jerry” Johnson Caskin passed on peacefully from our world in Athens on February 21, 2019, after an extended illness.  She was born to the late Loyd and Lutie Johnson on March 24, 1937, in Macon, GA.  She was preceded in death by her son Joseph Courtney, who died in 1990.

Jerry graduated from A.L. Miller High School in Macon and attended Auburn University. She married C.R. Joseph “Joe” Caskin, a childhood friend from Macon, in 1957.

She lovingly raising her two children, Courtney and Kimberly, and instilled in them the importance of serving and accepting others and maintaining a generous spirit. She later worked for the Athens Puppet Theater and the State Garden Club of Georgia.

Her greatest joy was volunteering at Camp Sunshine, a camp for children with cancer, where she led crafts for many summer sessions. She also volunteered for the Athens General (Piedmont) Auxiliary, St Mary’s Hospice, the Junior League of Athens, the Salvation Army Auxiliary, the Athens Ballet Theater Guild and the Rabun Gap Nacoochee School Guild.

Jerry was a member of Athens First United Methodist Church where she particularly enjoyed the Cornerstone Sunday School Class and the Wednesday night book club. She served in the Stephen Ministry.

She was a member of the Athens Garden Club. Her hobbies included gardening, propagating plants, playing bridge and entertaining friends.

Jerry loved and gave of herself unconditionally to family, friends and the community. She adored her two grandsons. Those who knew her always remember the way she made them feel. She is survived by her husband; by her daughter, Kimberly Gattiker, and family of Boise, Idaho: husband, Thomas, sons William Courtney and Robert Caskin; by her daughter-in-law, Tracey Renee Massey, of Athens; by her sister-in-law, Camille Lasseter, of Macon. She is also survived by nieces Camille Lowe, Miriam Lowe Hatcher and Laine Lasseter, and nephew Lee Lasseter.

A celebration of Jerry’s life will be held at Athens First United Methodist Church, 327 N. Lumpkin Street, in downtown Athens, on Friday, March 1, at 11:00 a.m. with the Reverend Martha Aenchbacher officiating. A reception will follow at the church in Hancock Hall. The family will hold a private interment at Oconee Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC, 20090-6011 or the charity of their choice. Arrangements are entrusted to Lord & Stephens Funeral Home Watkinsville.

Lord and Stephens, West, Watkinsville, GA is in charge of arrangements.

www.lordandstephens.com