Gordon "Lee" Dickens Jr.

Gordon Lee Dickens. Jr., World War II Submarine Officer, Regent Emeritus of the University System of Georgia, lawyer, organizer and past president of Milledgeville’s First Federal Savings & Loan Association (now First Liberty Bank), died in Augusta, Georgia, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Celebration of his life will be conducted Friday, March 6, 2020, 12 noon, graveside at the Dickens-Guill-Hill Square in the Sparta Cemetery by the Rev. Dr. Ed Nelson.

He is survived by his wife of 68 years Frances Peck Dickens, by his children Gordon Lee Dickens, III (Elizabeth), Marian Dickens Ramey (John), and Marvin Peck Dickens (Patricia), by eight grandchildren Raymond Lee Dickens (Stephanie), Gordon Westlake Dickens, Christopher Bryan Ramey (Aimee), Gretchen Ramey Pickens (Bryan), Katherine Miree Dickens, Sarah Alexandria Dickens, Rachel Elizabeth Dickens, and Jonathan V. Dickens, and by two great-grandchildren (Alice Lee Dickens and Zelda Rae Dickens).

He was born February 18, 1921 in Sparta, Georgia, the second of two children born to Fay Guill Dickens and Gordon Lee Dickens, Sr. His parents and his only sibling, Anne Dickens Davenport, predeceased him. He attended the Sparta Public Schools, graduating from Sparta High School in 1938. He attended Oxford College of Emory University (1938-1939) and Emory University (1939-1942), graduating from Emory University in 1942.

He served on active duty from August 11,1942 until March 6, 1946 in the United States Navy. At the time of his release from active duty he held the rank of Lieutenant (s.g.) USNR, qualified in submarines, where he served as gunnery and torpedo officer on the USS R-6 and the USS Muskellunge.

In March 1946, he enrolled in the Law School of the University of Georgia from which he received a Doctor of Law degree cum laude in 1948. From 1948 until 1961 he practiced law in Sparta, Georgia in partnership with his father. In 1961 he moved to and established a law office in Milledgeville, Georgia where he practiced until he retired in December 1999.

He served eight years (1964-1972) on the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia during which he initiated the action that resulted in Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College and State University) being made coeducational.

In 1965 he founded First Federal Savings & Loan Association of Milledgeville and for many years served as its president and chairman of its Board of Directors. He was a member of First United Methodist Church and the Men’s Bible Class and was chairman of the Relocation Committee and Building Committee as the church prepared to move to Log Cabin Road. His other affiliations included being an active member of Milledgeville Kiwanis Club, serving as president twice as well as District Governor. He was also a member and past President of the Oconee Sailing and Yacht Club and Sons of the American Revolution.

The family is requesting that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Pierce Memorial United Methodist Church, Sparta, Georgia or to “Caring for the Saints of Historic Hancock County” that provides care for the Sparta Cemetery Association through the Georgia United Methodist Foundation (gumf.org). Funeral arrangements are being managed by Thomas Poteet & Sons Funeral Directors, 214 Davis Rd., Augusta, GA 30907 (706) 364-8484. Please sign the guestbook at www.thomaspoteet.com