Gerald Hiram Rawls
Gerald Hiram Rawls was born on February 2, 1942 (Groundhog Day), which his parents took full advantage of by nicknaming him GH. GH, also known as D-daddy, was full of boundless energy and a larger-thanlife personality. He was born on the family farm in Southern Alabama as the spoiled youngest of three children. His brother, Martin Rawls, and sister, Janie Krause, were 20 and 12 years older than him, respectively. When GH was 3, his father moved them to Niagara Falls for work. GH grew up going to the local Polish bakery where he developed a lifelong love of pastries. At 18, he moved to Memphis to live with his brother and graduated from Kingsbury High School. Soon after, he joined the Air Force where he spent time in Denver, CO for basic training and was later stationed in Blytheville, AR. There, he met the love of his life, Gloria Jean Rhoads at the Kream Kastle. They married on December 26, 1962 and were married for almost 60 years. After they had their first daughter, Kimberly, GH was honorably discharged from the Air Force. He then began a long career with South Central Bell. He was stationed in small towns across Western Tennessee, including Union City where Michele was born. GH worked his way up from lineman to supervising engineer before he retired to spend time with his grandchildren. In retirement, he picked up a hobby for garage sales (or junking as he called it) where he curated an impressive collection of depression glass and niloak, a pottery made in Arkansas. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at 65. He battled to keep his mobility through Rock Steady boxing, yard work, and fixing anything in sight. He lived a long and meaningful life teaching his family the value of hard work and a job well done. He is survived by his daughters, Kim and Michele; sons-in-law, Sam and Donal; & grandchildren, Will, Drew, Annalise (Brayton), Delaney, and Abby. D-daddy left us with a hole in our hearts and will be greatly missed.
The funeral service will begin at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, November 18, 2023 at Memorial Park with visitation held one hour prior.