Brenton “Cotton” Allen Bagley

Brenton Allen Bagley “Cotton”, age 92, born September 26, 1929 in Cumming, Georgia passed peacefully on Thursday, May 26, 2022 in Suwanee, Georgia at his home surrounded by his family.

Brenton was a lifelong resident born in Forsyth County. He became a born-again Christian at a young age when he trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior. He was a member of Sharon Baptist Church in Suwanee, GA.

He is survived by his son, Gary Wayne (Debbie) Bagley; his brother, Jerry (Diane) Bagley; 5 grandchildren, Kristy (Kraig) Cantlin, Bethany (William) Cooke, R. Allen (Ali) Daniel, Travis (Bree) Daniel, Brent Bagley; 9 great grandchildren, Wyatt, Kaylee, Owen, Riley, Tinley, TK, Caroline, Greer, and Hudson; further survived by nieces, nephews, other family, and friends.

He is preceded in death by his parents Ralph Brent Bagley and Nina Pauline Settle-Bagley; wife, Dora Elizabeth Brown-Bagley; siblings Bobby, Farrell, and Jimmy; his children Danny Allen Bagley, Wanda Marsha Bagley, and Nina Anita Lynn Bagley-Daniel.

As so many have expressed in their condolences to the family, “What a life he lived!”  As his memory faded and he would quite often forget who we were, he could recite stories of the past as clear as they happened yesterday.  Being the eldest of 5 brothers, they lived on a farm, and he started out as a plowboy. Even the most seasoned farmers would tell, “that boy right there can out-plow any man.” He was so proud of his horse-mule Sam that he picked out and his Daddy bought in Lathemtown for $200. “That was a lot of money back then!” He had to quit school when he was in 10^th grade to work on the farm when his father got hurt and it was harvest time. Once they finished harvesting, he said that it was too late to catch up so he went to work at Woodruff Seed Co. He then went on to work at National Biscuit in the icing dept, finishing sheetrock with The Pounds Bros., General Motors at Doraville where he worked in the cushion dept., then moved onto pinstriping cars in the paint dept. where he retired after 30 years. He then went on to drive a school bus for Forsyth Co.  Schools where he retired for the 2^nd time.

He would often tell the story of how he and Mamaw met, their first kiss, and how she was the only woman he had ever loved. He remained faithful to her even after her death.

He was so proud of and loved his family, farming, fishing pond, bailing hay, gardening, raising cattle, making the best “just right” whole-hog sausage, a master carpenter building a little bit of everything including cabinets and cedar chests in his wood shop or even a barn in his backyard, going bowling on Thursday nights, eating a #44 at El Torero, and he was the first student of Gershon Mathis at Mathis Airport flying a J5 Cub and the first one to solo. He loved bird hunting and knew every covey of birds in Forsyth and many beyond. Catfish was his favorite but he would often head out to Pensacola in the morning with his father-in-law, and brother-in-law to go saltwater flats fishing and they’d get home that very night with "the biggest mess of fish you’ve ever seen." Again, what a life he lived! He was a living legend with so many stories of life in a different time. "The good ole days."

The family will receive friends on Monday, May 30^th from 12:00-8:00pm at Ingrams Funeral Home. The service will be at Ingrams Funeral Home at 11:00am on May 31st. For those that would like to attend, a procession will then follow to Sharon Baptist Church Cemetery for graveside service.