Mrs. Ruth Ann Loughridge Pannell: Obituary

Ruth Ann Loughridge Pannell, a resident of Atlanta and Murray County, Georgia died on August 23, 2016, from complications following a heart attack which she suffered a few days earlier. She was born on May 16, 1917, the daughter of the late James Patton Loughridge and Etta Jane Dickey Loughridge of Murray County. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husband of 57 years, Judge Charles Adam Pannell, Sr., of the Georgia Court of Appeals, and her sister and brother-in-law, Eunice (Peg) Loughridge Fincher and W.W. Fincher, Jr. of Chatsworth. She was a member of the Loughridge family, a pioneer family in Murray County, and a descendant of Robert Loughridge, a veteran of the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Pannell attended Maryville College and graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics in 1937. She taught at Murray County High School beginning that year through 1963, taking breaks for child rearing. She was inducted into the Murray County High School Teachers Hall of Fame in 2001.

Mrs. Pannell was a member of Eton Methodist Church from childhood and during the 1960s became a member of Northside United Methodist Church in Atlanta, where she was active in the Cannon Circle of the United Methodist Women and was a long-time member and past president of the Fellowship Sunday School Class. She was a member of the Gardenia Garden Club of Atlanta, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society.

Her life centered on her love for her family. She is survived by three sons and daughters-in-law: Judge Charles Adam Pannell, Jr., U.S. District Court, and his wife Kate Williams Pannell of Eton; attorney and former state representative James Loughridge Pannell and his wife Karen Bedingfield Pannell of Savannah; and attorney William Allen Pannell of Atlanta. Grandchildren: Charles Adam Pannell, III (Valerie Litz) of Atlanta, Dr. Ruth Ann Pannell Crider (William Ahtee Crider, III) of Statesboro, Jonathan Bedingfield Pannell (Kimberly White) of Savannah, Mary Jamison Pannell Tuttle (Rodney Brad Tuttle) of Savannah, Michael Reese Pannell of Atlanta, Margaret Jordon Pannell Regan of Atlanta, and William Adam Pannell of Maui, Hawaii.  Great grandchildren: Charles Adam Pannell, IV, Jackson Litz Pannell, and Charlotte Frances Pannell of Atlanta; William Ahtee Crider, IV, and Bozeman Alexander Crider of Statesboro; James White Pannell, Paul Robert Pannell, Robert Loughridge Tuttle, Thomas Butler Tuttle of Savannah; and Lane Thomas Regan of Atlanta.  Also survived by nieces and nephews: Mary Jane Fincher Peterson, Phyllis Fincher Parsons, Frances Fincher Hansford, Catherine Pannell Williamson, Ruth Pannell Cole, Robert Pannell, and Annette Pannell.

Visitation will be held at Peeples Funeral Home in Chatsworth from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, August 26. The funeral will be at Chatsworth First United Methodist Church beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 27, with interment in Chatsworth Heights Cemetery.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Whitfield-Murray Historical Society, P.O. Box 6180, 715 Chattanooga Avenue, Dalton, Georgia 30720, Northside United Methodist Church, UMW Fund, 2799 Northside Drive, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30305, Chatsworth First United Methodist Church P.O. Box 152 Chatsworth, GA 30705 or a charity of the donor’s choice.

Peeples Funeral Home & Crematory of Chatsworth is in charge of the arrangements for Mrs. Pannell.