Jose Raul Fernandez

Mr. Jose Raul Fernandez, age 73, of Villa Rica, Georgia passed away Monday, December 29, 2008 at Tanner Medical Center in Carrollton, Georgia. Mr. Fernandez was born June 11, 1935 in Havana, Cuba, the son of the late Mr. Jose E. Fernandez and the late Mrs. Julia H. Fernandez. He immigrated to the United States at 16 years of age and settled in Jackson, Mississippi. He graduated from Millsaps College, received advance degrees from Emory University and Georgia State University. Mr. Fernandez was a school teacher for 50 years, having taught Spanish and French in various schools in the Metro area, among them Darlington in Rome, Georgia, Clayton County School System, and retired from the Gwinnett School System in 1999. After retirement in 1999, and being retired for only a short time, he still wanted to teach, so he taught at the Georgian School, Oak Mountain Academy and West Georgia College in Carroll County, Georgia. Mr. Fernandez was preceded in death by his parents, his special mother and father-in-law, Marie and J. Leon Jackson; his special nephew, Doug Spence; and special sister-in-law, Betty Hope. Survivors include his wife of 45 years, Mrs. Shirley Ann Jackson Fernandez; his family by marriage - brothers and sisters-in-law, Mose and Norma Spence, Buddy and Lena Jackson, Bob and Wilma Jackson, Leroy and Dianne Jackson, and J. C. Hope; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and many colleagues and friends also survive. Funeral Services will be conducted Wednesday, December 31, 2008 at 11:00 AM from the Chapel of Jones-Wynn Funeral Home in Villa Rica. Interment will follow in Center Point Cemetery in the Center Point Community. The family will receive friends at Jones-Wynn Funeral Home in Villa Rica on Tuesday, December 30, 2008 from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM. Messages of condolence may be sent to the family at www.jones-wynn.com. Jones-Wynn Funeral Home of Villa Rica is in charge of arrangements.