Oscar Dorr Rhodes

Oscar D. Rhodes, Jr., 88 - beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend - passed away on June 2, 2025, at Burke Health after a short illness.

Oscar was born on October 1, 1936, in Hephzibah, Georgia to Oscar D. (Buster) Rhodes, Sr. and Carrie Bell (Hair) Rhodes. He grew up on a farm several miles south of town with two brothers and two sisters.

The love of Georgia soil and the fruits it bore lasted a lifetime; what joy he found in the garden – from tomatoes to peppers to pears. While the years took him away from Hephzibah at times, his love of home never waned.

He graduated from Hephzibah High School in 1954 but was a life-long learner - forever curious, forever tinkering. He built a successful career in kaolin mining, working for Babcock & Wilcox and KT Clay, among others.

He married his life partner, Billie Ann Scott, on May 28, 1961. They had two daughters, Kelly and Ashley, and built a home grounded in faith and family. For decades, Hephzibah Methodist Church was the core of their community – cultivating a lifetime of faith, friendships, and service.

Beyond family and faith…was fishing. Greater than the “catch” was the fishing buddies, Jimmy Neville and Ed Gilliland, and the stories they created that brought years of belly laughs.

A celebration of Oscar’s life will be held on Friday, June 6, 2025, at 2 p.m. at Poteet and Son Funeral chapel with Mr. Dave Hardy, officiating. Visitation will be held on Thursday, June 5, 2025, from 6-8 p.m. at the funeral home. Interment will be at Brothersville Cemetery, Mims Road, Hephzibah Georgia.

Mike Rhodes, Julian Allen, Richard Pettigrew, Jimmy Neville, Mark Neville, and William Wingate will serve as pallbearers.

Left with cherished memories include his wife of 64 years: Billie Ann; his daughters: Kelly Rhodes and Ashley Rhodes Collier (Bob); his grandson: Rhodes Collier; two granddaughters: Angela Powell and Natalie Willis (Brandon); one sister: Dorothy Oellerich; best friend and fishing buddy, Ed Gilliland, and family; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Preceding him in death include his parents: Buster and Carrie Bell Rhodes; two brothers: Earl and Emmett Rhodes; and sister: Louise Rhodes Pettigrew.

Flowers are accepted as well as memorials to Hephzibah Methodist Church Building Fund, P. O. Box 65, Hephzibah, Georgia 30815.

Thomas Poteet & Son Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Road, Augusta, GA 30907, (706) 364-8484.