Elizabeth Jane Fain

Elizabeth Jane Fain, 89, of Lawrenceville, GA passed away on December 8th, 2013.

Loving wife and mother passed away quietly at home on Dec 8, 2013. She was predeceased by her husband Freddie Lee Fain and daughter Patsy Van Ballegooijen. She is survived by her daughter Becky Fain Caldwell and son-in-law James Caldwell of Tucker, Georgia. and daughter, Jenny Fain of Grayson, Georgia. She was a loving grandmother to Sarah Heather Caldwell of Dickson, Tennessee and Gayle Katherine Caldwell of Tucker, Georgia. She was blessed to enjoy her great grandchildren Elizabeth Louise and Rebecca Mae of Dickson, Tennessee on many family occasions

There will be a gathering of family and friends at the Fain home in Grayson on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2014 from 2-6pm.

Her sister half-jokingly said " She was the smartest woman in the south." Now that may or may not be true but she is the last of her Ohio-based family of 4 sisters and 1 brother to pass.

She was the 5th of 6 children born on February 9, 1924 to Britta May West Williamson and Raymond C. Williamson of Martinsville, Ohio. She grew up on an apple farm in the country. She graduated from Martinsville High School in Martinsville, Ohio in the class of 1942 and went to work, as most did at the time, for the war effort.

Calvin Coolidge was President when she was born. Women had earned the right to vote only 4 years earlier. She lived through the Great Depression and worked on airplanes during World War II. She witnessed the evolution of radio and television, the invention of frozen vegetables, the Ford Model A and Studebakers. She remembers when Amelia Earhart flew airplanes and Life magazine was first published. She was 18 when Pearl Harbor was bombed. She loved to listen to Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey and the big band sound. During her lifetime Germany was split apart and brought back together. She witnessed the beginning of the space race and the first moon landing. It was quite an amazing time to live.

She loved to travel, and took many trips during her lifetime. A vacation in 1943 to Miami brought her to the south to stay. She stated on many occasions "I never wanted to taste the harsh Ohio winters again after feeling the warm sun of Miami." A series of job transfer set the stage for a long and fruitful life in the south.

She worked constantly to make a happy home for her children and was a loving wife for her husband. She was a remarkable seamstress earning extra money sewing for others. If you went to a Tucker High School football game on a Friday night in the late 60's you could see her talented handy work on the outfits of the cheerleaders and the drill team.

Once her children were in college, she began her first retirement in Monroe, Georgia living off the land and spent her days farming, canning, gardening and waiting for her husband of 54 years, Fred Fain, to join her in retirement. Once Fred retired, the farm life was cashed in for the boating life. They spent many splendid days on the Tennessee River floating on their beloved boat the 'SaraKate'. This was a great source of fun and laughs for family and friends because everyone knew Jane could not swim.

She lived out her final days in Grayson, Ga. being cared for by her daughter, Jenny.

She may not have been the smartest women in the south but, she was clever enough to have a wonderful life for close to 90 years!

Arrangements by Byars Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Cumming, GA.