Dr. Franz A. Eitel

December 29, 1926 - November 16, 2015

Funeral services for Dr. Franz A. Eitel, of Cochran, 88, who died Monday, November 16, 2015, in Regency Hospital in Macon, will be held Thursday, November 19, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. at Cochran First Baptist. Burial will be in Pulaski-Bleckley Memorial Gardens. Born in Berlin, Germany, Franz was the son of the late Wilhelm and Annie Marie Eitel. He moved to the United States in 1948 and graduated from Norris High School in Norris, Tennessee. He attended Lincoln Memorial University for two years and graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1951 with a B.A. in Botany; graduated with his M.S. in Ornamental Horticulture from Ohio State in 1954. He was a member of the United States Army serving in Korea and completed his PhD at the University of Georgia in 1972. He worked at New York Botanical Gardens and Callaway Gardens. He was a professor at Columbus College; taught at Truett McConnell College and moved to Cochran in 1966, where he was a professor at Middle Georgia College for 28 years. He continued to work and attend classes while working on the grounds at Middle Georgia College and First Baptist Church of Cochran. He was a member of the Lutheran Church in Macon and attended Cochran First Baptist Church. He was also a member of the Cochran Rotary Club. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Julia Smith Eitel. Survivors include: wife, Neddie Brantley Eitel of Cochran; sisters, Dr. Louise Dickerson of Columbia, S.C. and Eleonore Hinson of Peoria, IL. Family will be at the Eitel residence, Ann Street in Cochran, and will meet friends at the church following the service. Fisher Funeral Home of Cochran has charge of arrangements. www.fishersfuneralhome.net