Demaris Keen Humphries

Demaris Keen Humphries, formerly of Turtle Cove, died Saturday, Feb. 8, 2014, 37 days before her 97th birthday.

She was born March 17, 1917, in Dublin, the ninth child of William Albert and Nellie Keen.

She married John David Humphries on January 18, 1941, in Atlanta. Before her marriage, she worked as a comptometer operator for Bell Telephone.

During World War II, she served as an air raid warden for her neighborhood while her husband was overseas.

Beginning in 1950, Mrs. Humphries was a Girl Scout leader in Atlanta. The Humphries acquired a farm in Rockdale County. In 1955 she and Maxine Cornwell began a Girl Scout Day Camp on that farm, that later became a project of the local Girl Scout Council and continued to operate until 1975.

She was a registered Girl Scout leader for over 30 years, and was an active gardener, camper, and nature lover. The Jumphries donated land to St. Simons Episcopal Church, with the instruction that part be used for a church building and part be used to create Pine Log Park, the first public park in the county.

Judge Clarence Vaughan matched the donation to the park with contiguous acreage from his land. For the past 10 years she has been a resident of Remington House. Always cheerful, if you called any day, she would say, this has been the best day yet.

She is preceded in death by her husband, John, and is survived by children Lillie (Nolan) Nesbit of Conyers, Demaris (Jim) Miller of Virginia, John David (Kay) Humphries, Jr. of Atlanta, and Annis (John) Rogers of Pennsylvania, and exchange student daughter Christa (Harald) Landmann of Bielefeld, Germany, 11 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

A memorial service will be held at St. Simons Episcopal Church, Conyers, on March 15, 2014 at 11 a.m. Memorial donations may be made to St. Simons Episcopal Church. Express condolences at www.PhoenixFuneralServicesInc.com.