Annie Eleanor Linder Defore

On her 87th birthday, Annie Eleanor DeFore was given the best gift she could have received when she met her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on Saturday, December 4, 2021.

Eleanor was a faithful, active member of Southside Baptist Church’s Kathleen campus. An avid reader of her Bible, Eleanor loved the Lord with all of her being. In her church, she was involved in Sunday School, singing in the choir, and many other activities, where she wanted to give to others in faith. A homemaker all of her life, Eleanor was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Not only did she raise her own children, she also spent many years as a foster parent. She lived a life serving others. Eleanor could often be found volunteering in soup kitchens and at Wednesday night suppers. In the rare case when she wasn’t serving others, Eleanor enjoyed writing poetry and cooking. A native of Smoaks, South Carolina, where she was known as Aunt Nonie, she was the daughter of the late Bill Linder and Eunice Ray Kinsey Linder and graduated from Smoaks High School.

In addition to her parents, Eleanor was preceded in death by her husband James Franklin DeFore, Sr.; son, James Franklin DeFore, Jr.; daughter, Janet M. DeFore; and siblings, Harris Linder, Martha Lyons, Franklin Linder, and Tiny Linder.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, daughter, Susan “Susie” E. Spengler (Mark) and son, Kenneth L. DeFore (Kasey), all of Kathleen; grandchildren, Annie Wiley (Ed); Jessie Boler, Miranda Nolen (Ryan), James Franklin DeFore III, Kenneth “Trey” DeFore, Jr., Ann Marie DeFore, Alaine Spengler, and Mindy Henderson (Connor); great grandchildren, Caleb Roberts (Asia), Leia “LE” Odom, Lydia Bass, Olivia Boler, Julia Wiley, Clara Wiley, Laura Wiley, Lila Wiley, Abram Wiley, Ezra Wiley, Lilith DeFore, James Franklin DeFore IV, Jude Nelson, Aniston Nelson, and Ian Nolen; brother, Arnold Linder (Carmen) as well as many other loving family members and friends.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 at McCullough Funeral Home. Eleanor’s funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on December 8, 2021 at Southside Baptist Church in Kathleen. She will be laid to rest at Magnolia Park Cemetery. For friends unable to attend at this time, the service will be streamed live via the McCullough Funeral Home Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mcculloughfuneralhome/live/.

In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully requests donations be made in the memory of Eleanor DeFore to Southside Kathleen, 101 Bear Branch Rd, Kathleen, GA 31047.

Learn more about the measures McCullough Funeral Home is taking to ensure the health and safety of our guests at www.mcculloughfh.com. There you can also sign an Online Registry for the family. McCullough Funeral Home and Crematory has the privilege of being entrusted with these arrangements.