Katherine "Kitty" Willingham Carmichael Oliver

Katherine "Kitty" Willingham Carmichael Oliver, daughter of the late Katherine Coleman Willingham Carmichael and the late Robert Joseph Carmichael of Macon and widow of Lee Percy Oliver, Jr., died Sunday, January 26, 2014 at her home. Services will be held on Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 2:30PM at Christ Church with the Reverend Harriette Simmons officiating. Burial will be in Rose Hill Cemetery. The family will greet friends on Wednesday from 4:00PM until 6:30PM at 1183 Georgia Avenue. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Christ Church, 582 Walnut Street, Macon, Georgia 31201 or Friends of Fort Hawkins, c/o Newtown Macon, 479 Cherry Street, Macon, Georgia 31201. Mrs. Oliver was born in Macon on April 13, 1927. She attended Alexander III Elementary School, A. L. Miller High School and Duke University and graduated from Mercer University, where she was a member of Phi Mu. She did graduate studies at Texas Tech. Mrs. Oliver was a fifth generation Maconite. Her family has lived in the Historic District since the mid-1800's. Her great-grandfather, Samuel Taylor Coleman, lived in what is now the Sidney Lanier Cottage and the Woodruff House. Her grandmother, Katherine Benton Coleman, was born in the Bond Street home and married Alfred Ross Willingham there. In 1941, her parents bought the home in which she has lived most of her life. In 1951, Mrs. Oliver married Lee Percy Oliver, Jr. They were married for 53 ½ years. Mr. Oliver was recalled to service during the Korean Conflict as a pilot in the United States Air Force. While in service, they lived in Texas, Idaho, Montana and England. After returning from England, they lived in Auburn, Alabama where Mr. Oliver completed his architectural degree. They returned to Macon in 1957 to the historic home her parents had bought in 1941. Mrs. Oliver was an active volunteer in Macon. She served on the Boards of Junior League of Macon, Middle Georgia Regional Library, Museum of Arts and Science, Macon Phi Mu Alumnae Association, United Givers, Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitor Board, Friends of Fort Hawkins, Friends of Rose Hill, Town and Country Garden Club, Friends of the Library, where she organized the first Old Book Sale, Macon Chapter of the American Diabetes Association, The National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the State of Georgia, Macon Town Committee and the Middle Georgia Historical Society. Mrs. Oliver was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, where she had been a Sunday School teacher and Bazaar Chairman and served on the Episcopal Churchwomen Board. She was a member of the Georgia Trust, Intown Neighborhood, Friends of the Cannon Ball House, Hay House, National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of Ocmulgee Monument and Friends of the Douglas. In 1982, while serving as president of the Middle Georgia Historical Society, the Executive Director resigned. Mrs. Oliver took over that position until a permanent director could be found. She held that position for twenty years, retiring in 2002. She loved Macon history and enjoyed sharing it with anyone who was interested. In 1997, the Commonwealth of Kentucky commissioned her as a Kentucky Colonel. In 2002, the Board of Commissioners of Bibb County recognized Kitty Oliver as Bibb County's "most notable expert on local history". In 2006, Mrs. Oliver was awarded the Lifetime Service Award by the City of Macon. In 2007, she received the Macon Arts Alliance Cultural Award, and in 2013, the Daughters of the American Revolution awarded her the Community Service Award. Mrs. Oliver is survived by her daughter, Katherine (Kacy) Oliver Discher, and her husband, Charles; son, Lee Percy Oliver, III, and his wife, Becky; three grandsons, Robert Lee Discher, Lee Percy Oliver IV and James Carmichael Oliver; first cousin, Josephine Coleman Crandall Crutchfield. Register online at www.hartsmort.com. Hart's Mortuary and Crematory, Cherry Street, has charge of arrangements.