Willie Roberta Spratlin

Billie was born July 23, 1920, the youngest of five children. Her father had so wanted to

have a son that after having 4 girls, he had picked out the name of their fifth child before

the child was born. So after the birth of the fifth girl, that boy's name of William Robert

Spratlin became Willie Roberta Spratlin. That name never bothered Bille. The Spratlin

family lived at 898 Barnett Street in Atlanta (now known as Virginia Highlands) and the

family were very active in Druid Hills Baptist Church. Billie graduated from Girls High

School in Atlanta. The family later moved to the little town of Redan, GA when their

father retired to a place we called "the farm". Of the five girls only the one sister, Sarah,

married and had children.

Billie worked for Frigidare (32 years) as a secretary to top management until she retired

in 1978. Estelle, one of her co-workers, described her as as a quiet, sweet lady. Even

though Billie has been retired for more than 30 years, she has maintained contact with

the 'Frigidare family'. In fact Billie went to visit (July 2011) one of their oldest retirees,

Lois Barr who turned 105 years old and at the time was still living alone and her mind

was as sharp as someone half her age.

Family and faith were a big part of Billie's life. After Billie's father died in 1973, she took

on many of the responsibilities for managing the family finances to maintaining their

home. She used tillers to plow the garden, chain saws to prune trees and various lawn

equipment to keep up the home place. As the health of her other sisters failed Billie

took on more of the household chores of cooking and cleaning as well. Billie assumed

these challenges just as readily as she had assumed the other roles for the family. Billie

found new satisfaction in cooking and preparing special meals for the family.

Billie brought those skills of organizing and typing that she had honed at Frigidare to

good use in managing the family affairs. When Billie retired she purchased an office

desk complete with a pull out IBM-Selectric typewriter. Her home file folder labels were

all typed and neatly organized. She even had the critical files stored in a locking fire

proof cabinet.

In 1999, Billie along with her sisters Louise and Sarah moved to Cumming to be closer

to Sarah's son and his family. Although Louise died in 2001, Billie and Sarah enjoyed

their Greenwood Acres home in Cumming for 10 years. Once when Billie asked Sarah

why she was the one to always say the dinner blessing, Sarah responded matter of

factly that it was her eternal duty. After that Billie assumed that role like she had so

graciously assumed many other duties.

Even though Billie's memories have faded, she was still sweet and the manners she

was taught were not forgotten. Also, Billie would break into a sweet smile when she saw

one of the grandchildren, a friendly face, or a visiting pet. Whenever we visited we felt

better after experiencing her warm smile and gentle touch.

We will cherish many warm memories of our loving Aunt.

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

McDonald and Son Funeral Home
150 Sawnee Drive
Cumming, GA 30040

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

McDonald and Son Funeral Home
150 Sawnee Drive
Cumming, GA 30040