Kenneth W. Birdsong

Gordon- Kenneth W. Birdsong, of Gordon, passed away Saturday, February 19, 2011. Funeral services will be held Tuesday, February 22, 2011, at 11:00AM, in the chapel of Hart's Mortuary on Cherry Street. Visitation will be held Monday, February 21, 2011, from 5:00PM until 8:00PM, at Hart's Mortuary on Cherry Street. Burial will be at 2:30PM in the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Milledgeville, GA. Flowers will be accepted or donations may be made to the American Heart Association, Southeast Affiliate, Living Legacy Partnership, P.O. Box 409410, Atlanta, GA 30384-9410, the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 4406, Macon, GA 31208, or to the Veterans Administration at www.VeteranAid.org. The family may be contacted at 113 Nancy Drive, Macon, GA 31217, the residence of daughter, Dianne Hodges. Mr Birdsong was born and continued to reside in Twiggs County where he was a lifetime farmer. In the last several years he had become an avid collector of old farm tractors and equipment. He enlisted in the United States Army in 1945 and served during World War II and in Korea. Upon being discharged, he enlisted in the Army Reserve 340th Engineer Construction Battalion, where he served on active duty in 1949 and 1950. He was a recipient of the World War II Victory Ribbon. He served as Justice of the Peace in Twiggs County from 1951 until 1960 and served as Twiggs County Commissioner from 1961 until his election to the Georgia General Assembly in 1976. In 1975, he was one of the founders of the Older Americans Council of Middle Georgia. He was also active in Gordon and Gray VFW and American Legion Posts as well as the Exchange Club of Macon. He was very active in various civic, religious and social affairs of the community. He was a member of Stone Creek Baptist Church in Dry Branch GA. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1976 and served until retiring in 2004. In that position he represented Twiggs, Wilkinson and parts of Bibb and Jones Counties. He was chairman of the Defense and Veterans Affairs Committee, where he demonstrated excellent leadership ability in considering major legislation assigned to his committee and he provided unyielding support to the men and women in the Armed Forces and their families, the Georgia National Guard, and veterans and their families. His legislative experience and keen understanding of governmental problems made him one of the most influential members of the House of Representatives. He was one of Georgia's longest serving state legislators. He had 54 years of public service to the citizens of the state of Georgia. He was appointed to the Georgia State Veterans Board by Gov Sonny Perdue in 2005. He currently was serving as their chairman. He and his brother, Dr William R Birdsong were owners of Birdsong International-International Harvester Tractor Dealership. He and his family operated that business from 1969 until 1985. He was the son of the late William Oscar and Clara Ward Birdsong of Twiggs County. He was predeceased by brother, Dr William R Birdsong, and sisters, Marie Hall, Virginia Callaway and Grace Birdsong. He is survived by his sons; K.O. (Cheryl), Steve (Suzanne), and Roger (Jackie) Birdsong; daughter, Dianne Hodges (Larry Clark) and step daughter, Joy (Louis) Garcia. Grandchildren; Melissa (Jay) Touchton, Jason (Janna) Gatliff, Rachel Birdsong, Roger Birdsong, Richard Thompson (Keeley), Neal (Jenny) Birdsong, Rachel (Ben) Crabtree, Michael Birdsong, Angela Birdsong, Brianne Birdsong, Bubba Birdsong and Nikki (Wyatt) Erminger. He was previously married to Betty Anne Stevens Birdsong of Haddock for 43 years. Numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Register online at www.hartsmort.com. Hart's Mortuary and Crematory, Cherry Street, has charge of arrangements.