Lester G. Maddox Sr.

Family-Placed Death Notice

LESTER GARFIELD MADDOX 1915 - 2003 Former Georgia Governor Lester G. Maddox, Sr., 87, died June 25, 2003 following many years of multiple degenerative diseases. He was born September 30, 1915, soon after the U.S. entered World War I. The second of seven children of Dean G. and Flonnie Belle Castleberry Maddox, he was born on Grove Street (now Northside Drive), just inside Atlanta's then city limits, some 200 feet south of 14th Street. Nearby were the Atlanta Water Works, Atlanta Stock Yards, Atlantic Steel, foundries, railway yards, Georgia Tech and small homes and farms.At the time of his death, Governor Maddox remained the only native Atlantan elected governor and lieutenant governor and the only governor later elected lieutenant governor.Governor Maddox often told friends and others how fortunate he was to have been born when our country was struggling to survive, grow and prosper as a young and free nation under God. He appreciated being born when children were taught about God and love for our country in our churches, homes, and public schools. He appreciated being born when Americans seeking elective public office, editors, publishers and authors spoke of faith in God and to love America and cherish our freedom. Governor Maddox firmly believed that it was this faith and love along with America's private free enterprise system that prepared our people and our nation to become world leaders. From his youth until his death he cherished and defended these values, an innate part of his very being.Governor Maddox often said how thankful he was for the precious memory of standing in the front yard of the $800 Maddox family home on unpaved 14th Street as he watched the "Dough Boys" of World War I walk by after their discharge from Camp Gordon in Chamblee. He also recalled struggling to survive and care for his own family as our young country successfully struggled to become a giant among the nations of the world.It was early in Maddox's elementary school years that he determined he would become a successful participant in our private free enterprise system. He said he appreciated the good that some holders of high elective public office and the major political parties had done for our country, but he was firmly convinced that all of them combined had not done as much for America as had our free enterprise system. Lester Maddox sold Coca-Colas from the family's front yard and peddled chickens, eggs and vegetables to neighbors. When thirteen, he walked the five miles to and from downtown Atlanta to hawk the "Georgian American" newspaper that sold for 3 cents, and to buy raw peanuts at the Atlanta Produce Market (now Underground Atlanta). After building a fire in his mother's coal-burning cook stove, he parched and bagged the peanuts and walked back to Atlanta the next day to sell them, netting a profit of 95 cents for his two trips to and from Atlanta.When the Great Depression struck, the Maddox family experienced great-difficulty in obtaining food and clothing. There were times when young Lester walked with his older brother, Howard, the 12-mile round trip to the Egleston Children's Hospital on East Lake Drive to attend the Salvation Army's Christmas parties for children. When his father and mother were unable to care for the family from money earned from taking in laundry from their neighbors, the Salvation Army provided emergency food and clothing.As a result of the Great Depression, young Lester had to drop out of high school because he no longer had the necessary shoes, clothing and school lunches. Nevertheless, he continued his education by studying engineering and accounting with the International Correspondence Schools. After leaving school, Maddox worked an 84-hour, seven-day-a-week job at the 6th Street Pharmacy for $4 a week until the store was closed after the owner was shot during a hold up at his pharmacy. Then Lester worked for $5 a week as an apprentice dental technician with the W.D. Chandler Dental Lab until he obtained a machine operators job at Atlantic Steel Company, which paid $10 a week.In early 1955, Maddox became the youngest supervisor ever at Atlantic Steel. The position paid $16 a week for a 50 to 60 hour workweek. It was then that he proposed to Virginia Cox, a dark-haired blue-eyed girl he had met in 1932. Virginia agreed to the marriage conditional upon his salary reaching $33.50 weekly, which was usual at Atlantic Steel for supervisors. However, when it looked as though he would not obtain the weekly salary until a much later time, 17-year old Virginia married 20 year old Lester on May 9, 1936 when his salary had reached $19.75 weekly. It was also in 1936 that Maddox was chosen as one of two company supervisors to attend the American Iron and Steel Institute's annual convention in Chicago, where he met Republican presidential nominee, Wendell Wilkie, who was visiting in Chicago to open his Illinois campaign headquarters. Two years later, he was placed in charge of the entire operation of the company's steel strip, bar and job galvanizing plant, where his weekly salary finally reached $30. Maddox remained at Atlantic Steel for eight years and may have never left had he not been forced from his position for refusing the demand of company officials that he falsely accuse and fire two black employees. It is believed that no other person of any race, creed or color is known to have taken such costly action to himself and family in order to protect the employment and livelihood of others. When Lester lost his job at Atlantic Steel, Virginia and their two baby daughters lived alone in Atlanta for more than three months until he could save the $100 to pay the movers to carry their furniture from Atlanta to Bessemer, AL. It was then that 21-year old Virginia and their two babies made it to Alabama to be with him, having hitched a free ride on the moving van. Losing his position at Atlantic Steel proved to be a major and unexpected redirection of life and living for the Maddox family that would not end so long as they lived. Although since childhood he had dreamed of someday owning and operating his own business, he might never have gone into business and later served as Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Georgia has his insistence on honesty and fairness not cost him his position with Atlantic Steel.When Maddox was unable to find a position in Atlanta that would provide the very minimal necessities to care for Virginia and their, by then, two baby daughters, he accepted a supervisory position with Bessemer Galvanizing Works in Alabama. However, one week after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Maddox narrowly escaped instant death in an industrial accident that caused him to be hospitalized and left him with a permanent physical handicap. Although in a strange city without family transportation, Virginia walked to and from the hospital twice daily to visit with Lester. With their five month old daughter Virginia (born on her mother's birthday) in a baby stroller and holding three year old Linda by the hand she stood by her man; as she did for 61 years, one month, fourteen days, fifteen hours and forty minutes. Because of the injury, Maddox later left Alabama and returned to his native Atlanta in 1943 where he worked with the U.S. Department of the Navy as an Inspector of Engineering Materials. He later joined with Bell Aircraft in the building of the B29 bomber. After the war, he planned, built, owned and managed his own restaurants and furniture store, and owned and operated the Maddox Grocery Store. First licensed in real estate sales in 1945, he owned Lester Maddox Realty and retained his broker's license until his death. It was during those years as chief executive of his businesses and in industrial supervision and management that Maddox became an expert in efficiency and cost and quality control. His CEO and management experiences proved to be invaluable for Governor Maddox and the state when he became Georgia's chief executive. Numerous knowledgeable individuals in government and the private sector expressed their belief that Governor Maddox's vast leadership experience probably exceeded that which one could attain in a lifetime in government service. Mr. Edwin Swain, Director of the State Merit System, stated to numerous individuals and groups: "I've been in state government under the administrations of seven governors and Gov. Maddox is the first one to actually work for and demand efficiency in state government."Governor Maddox was unique as a candidate for high elective office. Although encouraged by others over the years to seek legislative positions in local, state and national government, he never sought such a position. Once he decided to seek public office he determined his background was such that he could best serve the people and government as chief executive in elective public office.It was his disappointment that some of his elected friends and others were never the same once elected as they were as candidates, that led Maddox to seek public office. By campaigning for and serving in high elective office as he lived for his entire life, he succeeded in proving to himself and others that a person could remain the same in or out of public office.Governor Maddox was also very uniquely qualified in that he was an outsider to the entire Georgia political establishment and free to make his own objective decisions as to what he knew to be best for Georgia. As a proven successful planner, builder, orgnizer and leader in industry and business, he was exceptionally well qualified to be Georgi's chief executive and was in the unique position of being able to lead and not follow the political establishment. A few people said that if Lester Maddox were elected governor he would go there for on-the-job training, but Governor Maddox often said that what he really did was retrain and train many state officials and career employees that were already in state government.Maddox's campaign for lieutenant governor in 1962 was his first ever statewide campaign, and he beat seven of his eight opponents. In 1966, he beat all of his Democratic gubernatorial opponents and won the Democratic nomination with a landslide vote over former Governor Ellis Arnall in the primary runoff. The election was finally determined by the Georgia General Assembly since Arnall allowed his name to be continuously publicized as the Democratic write-in candidate. Georgia's Democratic U.S. Congressmen and other leading Democrats credited Governor Maddox's strong win as the Democratic nominee with having saved five U.S. Congressional seats and the Office of Governor for the Democrats. It was in 1966 that the Democrats lost 46 seats in the U.S. House. In early 1967, when Governor Maddox accepted an invitation to meet privately with President Johnson in the Oval Office, Johnson conceded that Maddox probably did save those five Georgia seats for the Democrats. Further, much of the regional news media of that era, most leading state Democrats and numerous Republicans credited Maddox with having been a major factor in the Democratic statehouse wins of 1970, including the election of Jimmy Carter.Governor Maddox was unique as Georgia's governor. He succeeded in keeping his promise that his administration would give the people of Georgia their most open, honest, efficient, and representative administration. His management and chief executive skills were numerous and his expertise of teaching and directing cost control and efficiency in industry and business had been well recognized and - as attested to by state officials and employees - was a top priority of the Maddox Administration for his entire term.Dollars for new and expanded Georgia industry during the Maddox four years equaled that for the prior 20 years from 1947-1966. When Governor Maddox left office, one-4th of the basic sakary for teachers had been attained in only four years, while it had taken 96 years for them to attain the other three-forths. The stae budget increase of 103.5% for higher education through the State Board of Regents was greater then for any four-year term through F.Y. 2000 and might have been the largest such percentage increase of any state during those four fiscal years. The percentage of budget increase for Mental Health and the State Department of Health were also record breakers that still stand as of F.Y. 2002.Public Safety: To keep his promise that state government would meet its responsibility of protecting the lives and properties of its citizens, Gov. Maddox succeeded in getting an increase for the Department of Public Safety that still stands as a record of being double the next highest increase for any four year term as of 2000. He also succeeded in obtaining an increase of thirty-five percent in the number of State Patrolmen and similar increases of law enforcement officers in other state departments; another record that still stands.As a result of the Maddox Administration, more black Georgians were appointed to or employed in positions where they had never participated and in white-collar positions than during the combined administrations of the previous sixty-six years.The late Rev. Hosea Williams, once one of Maddox's most outspoken opponents who (as published and broadcast) said "Lester Maddox is the best and most honest Governor of Georgia during the last hundred years. He integrated the GBI and State Patrol and other areas of state government and I do not know of another state in the southeast that has done so much for its black citizens.And from the Black publisher of The Augusta Mirror: "Gov. Lester Maddox, is the nation's top chief executive and the best Georgia has ever had in its history as far as Black Georgians are concerned. In his administration, Black people are working in all departments. No state governor in the nation has done so much for equal job opportunities as has Gov. Maddox." It was during the Maddox Administration that Georgia became a leader for the southeastern states in opening all of state government to all its citizens of every race, creed and color.In appointments to state boards and to state and county executive and judicial positions, the Maddox Administration was Georgia's most nonpartisan ever. For his entire term, there was a daily Bible reading and prayer in the Governor's office. Twice each month, Governor Maddox also opened his office and state government to all Georgians who wanted to visit and be heard. This was a first ever and it is believed more Georgians visited the Governor's Office during those four years than during the previous sixty-six years.A regional commuter rail system similar to one now being studied by state government was first proposed by Governor Maddox in 1968. He made pubic his proposal, which included a drawing identifying the use of existing railways that would carry commuters to and from Atlanta and other Georgia cities north, south, east and west of Atlanta.When there were insufficient funds to build a swimming pool, tennis courts and a fence for the Governor's Mansion, the state Mansion Authority members proposed to build the swimming pool and tennis courts, rather than the beautiful fence now on the property. Maddox insisted that for security and beautification purposes the fence be built and that the swimming pool and tennis courts be delayed until another First Family moved into the Mansion. When Governor Maddox asked that flagpoles be installed in front of the Mansion, he was informed that the Mansion Authority members would not install the poles and would fly the U.S. Flag on special occasions from a bracket on one of the Mansion's columns. Governor Maddox promptly raised private funds to purchase the three flagpoles and had the Georgia National Guard install them.It was Governor Maddox who, for security and beautification purposes used $69,000 from the Governor's emergency funds to light up the grounds and outside of the State Capitol, which continues to receive complimentary remarks from tourists and others who visit the Capitol area. Governor Maddox was also unique as Georgia's lieutenant governor. He was not only Georgia's only governor to be elected lieutenant governor, but having left the Office of Governor with an 84-plus percent poll rating, he won the Democratic nomination without a runoff; carried 158 of Georgia's 159 counties in the general election and received more votes than any other candidate for governor or lieutenant governor had ever received. He received in excess of 73 percent of the votes in the general election, which remains a record for a successful Democratic candidate for governor or lieutenant governor over the opposing party's nominee.Lieutenant Governor Maddox insisted that the financing for MARTA not be placed on real estate property taxes, so MARTA financing and the beginning of MARTA was not until legislative and private sector proponents brought a sales tax proposal to Lieutenant Governor Maddox that he had demanded of them. Fulton and DeKalb Counties now have collected more than $3 billion in local option MARTA sales tax without one dollar of it coming from real estate property taxes.As Governor, Maddox was recognized as having been the most nonpartisan Georgia chief executive ever, because of his selection of appointees and employment practices. He followed the same nonpartisan policy as lieutenant governor.More Republican members of the Georgia Senate were appointed as chairmen of Standing Senate Committees than during any other four-year term of the 20th century. Of the eight Republican members, Maddox appointed four (50%) of them as Committee Chairman.As lieutenant governor, Maddox also urged the State Department of Transportation to begin planning for an outer perimeter. That planning began some 15 years later.In the fall of 1971, Maddox arranged for Alabama Governor George Wallace to meet with him at the Montgomery Airport. Upon his arrival, Maddox was driven from his plane to meet with Governor and Mrs. Wallace in their limousine at the airport. It was there that Maddox suggested that Wallace seek the Democratic nomination for President in 1972 rather than run as an independent. Some two months after the Wallace-Maddox meeting, Governor Wallace informed the American people that he was switching parties and would run as a Democrat. Both of the Wallace's thanked Maddox then and later for his having talked Wallace into making the switch. It was also in 1971 that Georgia's Democratic and Republican leadership and much of Georgia's news media predicted that Lieutenant Governor Maddox would probably be the next U.S. Senator from Georgia if he chose to run. Maddox instead endorsed young Sam Nunn and Maddox's family and supporters worked with and for Mr. Nunn until he received the Democratic nomination and became U.S. Senator.The former governor and lieutenant governor began attending North Atlanta Baptist Church at 10th Street and Hemphill Ave. in 1981. He accepted Christ at age 17 in 1932 and taught Sunday School for many years. He retained membership at North Atlanta Baptist until 1998, and also delivered morning and evening Sabbath Day, and weekday and revival service messages throughout Georgia and from coast to coast in most states of the nation for more than two decades. At the time of his death he was a member of Roswell Street Baptist Church of Marietta.In a determined effort to keep his commitment to God as a witness for Him and to fight for constitutional government and the free enterprise system, Maddox addressed many church congregations and business associations in more than 30 states over a period of more than two decades. He became a Master Mason in 1940, was a member of the Yaarab Temple, a York Rite, Scottish Rite and Royal Arch Mason, the Knights Commander Court of Honor, The National Sojourners and other Masonic groups. He was a member of the Buckhead Fifty Club, a life member of the American Independent Business Association, a member of National Taxpayers Union, The Heritage Foundation, Heritage Preservation Association and the Council of Conservative Citizens. Gov. Maddox was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws Degree from Bob Jones University where he once served as a member of the Board of Directors. He was a life member of the Georgia Peace Officers Association, authorized by the Cobb County Court of the Ordinary to act as a Cobb County Deputy Sheriff, and was a member of the National Rifle Association, Gunowners of America, Military Order of The Stars and Bars, and a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans for 44 years. Governor Maddox was preceded in death by his wife Virginia Cox Maddox. First Lady Virginia opened her then home, the Governor's Mansion, and her heart to all who came to visit her. She was the first First Lady of Georgia and in the nation to greet visitors at a Governor's Mansion six days a week. She welcomed in excess of 400,000 visitors.Virginia and Lester Maddox were married longer than any other Georgia Governor and his wife. During their long marriage, Virginia nursed and cared for Lester through five life-threatening illnesses. Governor Maddox proclaimed up to the end of his life how blessed and privileged he had been to nurse and care for Virginia during her exended years of illness, to keep house as well as he could, and prepare their meals. He often said that their years of nursing and caring for each other had given them an ever growing faith in God and that God had used the pain, suffering and grief in their lives to make them stronger witnesses for Him and give them an enduring love for each other that reached greater depth, height and strength than either of them had ever imagined could come to a wife and husband.Lester Maddox's official portrait at the State Capitol is the only one known to ever include the photograph of a governor's wife and the words "In God We Trust". The painting also includes some Georgia peaches and to the rear of the former governor there is a small front-page portion of The Atlanta Constitution. Upon the original painting of the 1960's having deteriorated, then Lt. Governor Zell Miller, Maddox's former Executive Secretary, raised the $5,000.00 in 1986 (some nineteen years after Maddox was elected governor), which made the replacement painting possible.Survivors include daughter and son in-law Linda and Don Densmore; daughter and son in-law Virginia "Ginny" and George Carnes; son and daughter-in-law Lester, Jr. and Jean Maddox; son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Anna Maddox; brother and sister-in-law A.B. "Pat" and June Maddox; ten grandchildren, twelve great-grandchildren, numerous nieces, nephews and other relatives. The family will receive friends at H.M. Patterson & Son Historic Spring Hill Thursday evening from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. Governor Maddox will lie in state in Rotunda at the State Capitol from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 Noon on Friday. Funeral services will be held 2:00 p.m. Friday, June 27, 2003 at Roswell Street Baptist Church (774 Roswell Street) in Marietta. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park.Former Maddox pastors, Dr. James Adkins, Rev. Lendell Ainsworth, Dr. Nelson Price and Dr. Wayne Robertson, along with Dr. Ernest Easley and Dr. James Merritt will officiate. Former Youth for Christ Director, the Rev. Henry Grosh, who sang "It Took a Miracle" at Maddox's inauguration will sing it again at the services. While serving as governor and lieutenant governor, First Lady Virginia and Lester received more than sixty Bibles. The most used of them all, the one given him in the State Senate, Lester's last day as lieutenant governor, January 14, 1975, will be presented back to the Senate by U.S. Senator Zell Miller. There will also be a short prerecorded message from Maddox. Pallbearers will include State Troopers, grandsons and nephews. Honorary pallbearers will include former staff members, current and former state officials, Masonic Breathern and Sons of Confederate Veterans. Interment will take place at Arlington Memorial Park where Little Jan Buckner and Kay Summerville will sing and Masonic graveside services will be as arranged by Sandy Springs Masonic Lodge 124, F&AM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Roswell Street Baptist Church, 774 Roswell Street, Marietta 30060; American Heart Association, 1685 Terrell Mill Road, Marietta 30067 or to Lupus Foundation of America, 150 Interstate North Parkway, NW, Atlanta, 30328. Arrangements made by H.M. Patterson & Son Spring Hill, 1020 Spring St., N.W., Atlanta, GA. 30309. 404-876-1022.