A. S. Turner and Sons Funeral Home

02/22/2026

H. Clarke Rodgers Jr.

H. Clarke Rodgers Jr., 85, of Dunwoody, GA, passed away peacefully on February 17, 2026, following a courageous, long-term battle with Parkinson's disease.

Born in Atlanta in 1940 to H. Clarke Sr. and Kathleen Herrin Rodgers, Clarke's life was defined by a profound sense of duty and a global perspective. After serving in the U.S. Army from 1962 to 1965, he attended Emory University, an education that laid the groundwork for a distinguished thirty-two-year career as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. His work took him across Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, where he represented his country with pride and dedication.

Beyond his professional achievements, Clarke was a man of deep curiosity. He was a lifelong student of history and current events, often found immersed in a book or researching his family's genealogy. He took great joy in sharing his vast knowledge with those around him, punctuated by a sharp sense of humor and an unwavering commitment to his loved ones.

Clarke was preceded in death by his parents, Kathleen and H. Clarke Rodgers Sr. His memory will be cherished and kept alive by his wife of over fifty-seven years, Maria (Gussie) Rodgers; his son, Clarke Rodgers; and his sister, Lynne Rodgers Hannon. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Clarke's honor to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research via his tribute page at https://tribute.michaeljfox.org/tribute-page.php?id=3485&np=true.

View Henry Clarke Rodgers Jr.'s obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

02/20/2026

With cremation, there are so many different options to consider when choosing a loved one's final resting place. One of those options is urn burial! To learn more about what urn burial is and how it works, click the link.

Did you know that urn burial is a popular option when honoring a loved one's ashes? Click to link to learn more about this cremation option!

02/19/2026

Paul William Varian

Paul Varian, who spent nearly 45 years writing and helping shape stories about some of the biggest news events of his time, the latter half of his career as an editor and senior producer for CNN, died Tuesday, February 17, 2026. He was 78.

A fierce champion of writing plainly and with precision, he would have haunted his adult children if one of us had written that he had passed away. He had battled serious heart and lung ailments in recent years.

A native of New Rochelle, New York, our dad was the third of four generations of Varians to work in the news business. He started as a cub reporter in Detroit with United Press International (UPI). As he often told it, his editor balled up his very first story and tossed it in a garbage can without looking at him.

He would go on to write about Detroit's long recovery from 1967 riots, the "coed murders" around Ann Arbor and Gerald Ford's rise to the presidency. A box he left behind includes copies of police reports about the disappearance of labor leader Jimmy Hoffa.

Dad spoke of those early reporting years most fondly but said he took an early editing job because it paid $50 more a week and his family was growing. He would go on to serve as Michigan bureau chief before moving for roles in New York and Washington, D.C. as assistant managing editor and international editor. He also oversaw the company's style and word usage guide.

In the mid-1980s, amid the latest upheaval in the news industry and particularly at UPI, dad struck out for Atlanta and the former plantation that served as headquarters for CNN. The cable network was still in its early years, trying to prove there was a market for 24-hour news coverage, before the first Iraq War vaulted it into the foreground.

When CNN moved to new headquarters, dad landed a spot in the newsroom behind the main anchor desk. If you tuned in for any big news, he could often be seen standing, a phone cradled against an ear, his free hand gesturing wildly at some poor reporter who had not gotten the instructions. He won an Emmy for helping shepherd the network's coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing. We're told he was loved and feared, sometimes by the same people.

In retirement dad took in two of his adult children as they faced their own health challenges. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sandra, and son, Michael. He is survived by his daughter, Rachel Harrigan, her husband, Brad, and their son, Robert; Heather Foster and her son, Reeves; and Bill Varian and his wife Charlene; as well as siblings Dennis, Mark, Greg and Maura Varian and Elaine Ruhl.

His children are forever grateful to Connie Bryans, whom he described as his "lady friend" for the past decade. She has been by his side throughout and made sure his retirement years included plenty of culture and adventure.

View Paul William Varian's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

02/18/2026

Irma Margareta Martin

Irma "Margareta" Martin, 95, passed away on December 1, 2025. Her remarkable life spanned from Finland to the USA, where she touched many lives preserving and promoting Finnish and Nordic community and culture in Atlanta and the Southeast.

Margareta, as she is known to her US friends, was born August 6, 1930 in Helsinki to Jarl Otto Casimir Carpelan and Mirja Emilia (von Zweygberg) Carpelan. Otto, a forestry engineer, raised her to love nature, including birds and forest walks. Mirja, later a national archivist, encouraged a passion for reading and family history. Younger brother, Christian Carpelan, is a retired archaeologist in Finland. Her childhood years were spent in Viipuri (now Vyborg, Russia), Jyväskylä, and Helsinki, with summers in the lake-dotted Finnish countryside. An imaginative child, she penned stories, loved learning languages, and sketched and painted under the tutelage of her dear artist aunt Brita von Zweygberg. She won local awards in orienteering and cross-country skiing. During the Continuation War, she was sent to Sweden for a year and kept a diary of that experience.

Margareta graduated Laudatur, the top commendation in high school exam scores, from Helsingin Suomalainen Yhteiskoulu, and earned a bachelor's degree in business administration at Svenska Handelshögskolan in Helsinki. Aspiring to a foreign service career, she worked as an interpreter at Galeries Lafayette department store in Paris in 1951 and at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics. Employer Wald Tefke, a Helsinki-based import firm, praised her ambition and fluency in Finnish, Swedish, French, German, and English.

Margareta's opportunity to expand her horizons came in summer 1953, when she accepted an invitation to study in the USA from her grand-uncle Lennart von Zweygberg, esteemed cellist and music professor at Indiana University-Bloomington. She made many friends among IU's vibrant community of international graduate students, studied government and comparative literature, and completed her first master's degree. In late summer 1954, she returned to Finland to work for another import firm Collichem Helsingfors. But Margareta yearned to see the world, and the chance to leave Finland permanently presented when a friend from IU, William "Bill" Culbertson Martin, arrived in March 1955. Margareta accepted Bill's proposal in Paris that summer, and they were married October 30, 1955, in Helsinki.

The happy couple returned to Bloomington for Bill and Margareta to pursue their respective graduate studies in sociology and political science. Bill's teaching took them to Fulton, Mo. (1958-1959), Indianapolis, Ind. (1959-1965), and Cedar Rapids, Iowa (1965-1968). Daughter Anya was born in 1963, and Margareta committed her creative energies to motherhood, ceramics, faculty-wife volunteer activities, and Siamese cat Pupu ("Bunny" in Finnish). From 1968-1970 in Nashville, Tenn., Bill finished his doctorate at Vanderbilt University, and Margareta earned a second master's in library science from George Peabody College (now Vanderbilt).

After a 1970 move to Atlanta, Bill taught at Georgia State University, and Margareta utilized her degree as secretary for the American Association of University Women's Reading Is Fundamental project, distributing free books to Atlanta-area schoolchildren, and as a reference librarian for Emory University's Woodruff Library. In 1975 she began a two-decade career as an information specialist at The Coca-Cola Company's Technical Information Services. In 1991 she was promoted to manager, leading TIS's transition to fully automated library systems until her 1994 retirement.

However, a chance introduction to fellow Finnish expatriate Marja Barron lit the flame of Margareta's mission for the rest of her life. The two co-founded the Atlanta Finland Society (AFS), originally a social club for Atlanta-based Finnish families, but quickly expanding to showcasing Finland in international fairs, exhibits, lectures, musical performances, films, and more. Margareta served as AFS president from 1975-1979 and in 2005. Some AFS achievements of which she was particularly proud include helping bring Eino's "The Last Meter" statue of four-time gold-medal runner Lasse Virén to Piedmont Park, serving as a local liaison with Finnish teams for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic and Paralympic Games, working with the Museum of Design Atlanta to host an exhibition on architect/designer Eero Saarinen in 2013, and collaborating with the Finnish-American Chamber of Commerce to invite Pasi Sahlberg, a key innovator behind Finland's acclaimed education system, to meet with Georgia educational leaders. She traveled often to Finland to visit family, cultivate transatlantic partnerships, and bring resources back to Atlanta. In 2013, she published The Finns of Atlanta: A History of the Atlanta Suomi Finland Society 1970-2010, exploring, in her words, how AFS "fit into Atlanta's rise into an international, multicultural city."

Starting in 1983, Margareta was active in the Scandinavian-American Foundation of Georgia, serving as president, chair, and secretary. Under her leadership, two 1990s Scandinavian Weekends brought representatives from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland to share Nordic innovation at Emory University and The Carter Center. She served as board member and cultural exhibits committee chair for the Atlanta Scandinavian Festival for more than 15 years, volunteered enthusiastically with other Atlanta-based Nordic groups, and, along with Bill, hosted many foreign professionals and students for the Atlanta Council for International Visitors, GSU, Emory, and other organizations.

Through her working years and into retirement, Margareta also performed translator and interpreter work for business and personal clients. She won the 1997 Finnish-American Translators Association (FATA) translation competition, served as FATA's chair, and saw publication of two novel translations-the critically acclaimed Voices in the Late Hour by Bo Carpelan (University of Georgia Press, 1988) and Rich and Respected by Eeva Joenpelto (FATA, 1997). She taught Finnish to American students and penned articles and book reviews for World Literature Today, New World Finn, Finnish American Reporter, Helsinki's Swedish newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet, and more.

Over Margareta's time in Atlanta, four collies Rory, Tristan, Duncan, and Max, cat Kai, and Anya's husky Curv also were dear family members. Sadly Bill passed away in 2014, but even in her 80s, Margareta remained active in AFS and Nordic organizations, as well as the Emory Women's Club. She enthusiastically engaged in knitting, crocheting, quilting, reading, various art projects, and tending to her garden where her bulbs continue to bloom every spring. Her good health seemed unstoppable until cancer in 2018. Resilient as ever, she conquered it through surgery and chemotherapy, but Alzheimer's disease followed. In June 2021, she moved to Pebblebrook at Park Springs memory care community. Margareta's family is grateful to all the amazing loving staff who became not merely caregivers but friends. Margareta's wish was a place with a garden, and many photos show her in her wheelchair "walking" Curv out among the flowers and within the cheerful corridors.

Margareta is survived by daughter Anya, as well as brother Christian Carpelan and his wife Anja; niece Anna Dye and her husband John; nephew Paulus Carpelan and his wife Maari; their three children Siina, Frida, and Joel; and her beloved cousin Laura Jalkanen-Lehtinen, her husband Riisto and children Jyri and Arla.

A Celebration of Life for Margareta Martin will be held on Saturday March 28 at 1 p.m. (viewing at noon) at A. S. Turner & Sons, 2773 North Decatur Road, Decatur, GA 30033, (404) 292-1551, www.asturner.com. Following her wishes, she will be buried with her parents in Helsinki at Hietaniemi cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions are encouraged in Margareta's memory to the Finlandia Foundation's Making History campaign or Doctors Without Borders.

View Irma Margareta Martin's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

02/18/2026

There are many funeral options, including eco-friendly choices such as Terramation, also known as "Natural Organic Reduction"

What is Terramation, you ask? Well, we've got just the resource for you! On our website, we have created a page to help you understand more about what Terramation is and how the process works, so that you can make the most informed choice for your final disposition.

To learn more, visit www.asturner.com/services/natural-organic-reduction today!

02/16/2026

Randy Scott Beebe

Randy will be remembered for his generous spirit, his big heart and wide smile, his love for his family, and devotion to his four-legged companions. He lived his life fully and shared joy with all whom he encountered. If you knew him, you loved him.

Randy Scott Beebe, 74, of Avondale Estates, Georgia, passed away on February 10, 2026.

Randy was born in Columbus, Georgia on November 10, 1951. He grew up alongside his sisters, Linda and Faye, and his brothers, Larry and later James. His mother, Bonnie York Pritchard, instilled within him the importance of justice and equality, ideals which Randy carried with him throughout his life. Although his childhood was simple, the Beebe household was happy and full of love.

Randy's career at AT&T started as a lineman for Bellsouth, which later became AT&T. He was drafted into the Vietnam War, where he served his country in the U.S. Air Force. After completing his military service, he returned to AT&T and worked his way up to fiber optics manager for the Eastern United States. While juggling work responsibilities during his early career, he graduated from college and went on to earn an Executive Masters Degree from Georgia Tech.

In 1978, Danielle Beebe was born. Being a father came naturally to Randy. He was always able to find the perfect balance between providing support and advice and encouraging his daughter to be independent. He was so very proud of his Danielle Beebe. He shared his love of travel with her at an early age. Their weekends were often filled with trips to various spots around the city and beyond, earning Randy the nickname among Danielle's friends of Adventure Dad. He encouraged Danielle to live life fully and parented without judgment.

After more than 30 years with AT&T, Randy retired. He set out across the country in his RV, making friends everywhere he went. Randy returned to Georgia, and in 2006, while in Savannah, he met Stacy. He proposed the following year, and in 2008 married the love of his life surrounded by friends and family. Randy and Stacy traveled the world together, sharing such sights as Argentina's Tierra del Fuego, the coast of Croatia and the view from Gibraltar of Africa rising from the clouds. Each trip was an adventure, made only more special when Danielle was able to join them. Whether traveling, dining at a local restaurant, locking down during a global pandemic, or boating on Lake Lanier, Stacy and Randy enjoyed a life filled with laughter and joy.

Randy brightened any room that he entered, often arriving with his signature salmon prepared on his Big Green Egg. He adored people, and they adored him. He grew close to Stacy's parents, helping them fix this and that around their house, and bonding over their love of all things Georgia Tech.

Randy also loved animals and was especially attached to his dogs, Maggie, Ellie Mae, and Bear. He served as the treasurer of Paws Between Homes, a nonprofit organization that provided temporary foster housing to pets of those who were facing housing instability. In 2025, Paws Between Homes became part of the Atlanta Humane Society's Pets in Crisis Program. Randy also served on the Avondale Estates Board of Commissioners, provided facilities management services to Decatur Town Center and the Decatur First United Methodist Church, and volunteered for the Atlanta Legal Aid Society as well as various state and federal parks during his RV adventures.

Randy was preceded in death by his parents, JC Beebe and Bonnie York Pritchard, and his sister Linda Beebe Wheeler. He is survived by his wife, Stacy Reynolds, his daughter, Carman Danielle Beebe, his son, Christopher Allen Runyan-Beebe, and his siblings Faye Hindson, Larry Beebe, and James Pritchard.

In honor of Randy's love for animals, the family welcomes individuals to volunteer for or donate to the Pets in Crisis program at the Atlanta Humane Society, to foster or adopt a rescue, or support any other pet related charity. Learn more about the Pets in Crisis Program here: https://atlantahumane.org/get-involved/pets-in-crisis/. There is also a GoFundMe set up by Cole Thaler for providing additional assistance to the Atlanta pet owners if you prefer to give there: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-atlanta-families-and-pets-in-need

An informal celebration of life will be held on February 19 from 2-5pm in Willis Park in Avondale Estates, Ga. People who loved Randy are welcome to drop by to reminisce. We will be collecting memories for those who can join us in person and those who cannot are encouraged to add to the memory board set up here: https://www.kudoboard.com/boards/bSbhwfiF.

View Randy Scott Beebe's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

02/16/2026

Happy Presidents' Day! Did you know that Presidents' Day was first established in 1885 as George Washington Day? It wasn't until 1971 that it gained its current name.

02/14/2026

This Valentine's Day, we wish you a beautiful day filled with the people and activities you love. May you enjoy every piece of chocolate and make memories that will last a lifetime.

02/13/2026

Valentine's Day can be difficult no matter what's going on in your life, but when you're grieving, it can be even more so. Check out this article for 5 self-care tips that will help you make the most of the day!

Valentine's Day can brings deep emotions if you are missing someone you love, but you can turn it into a good day with these self-care tips.

02/13/2026

Meredith Kimball Collver

It is with heavy hearts that the Collver Family announce the death of our matriarch! This obituary can be written in one line; "She is the kindest person anyone has ever known, and everybody, everybody loved her!"

Meredith was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Charles W. Reineke (Dutch) and Doris M. Reineke on December 15, 1950. She was a graduate of the Arlington School and the University of Tennessee. She met the love of her life and was married to Mike Collver for 43 years. The two were inseparable!

Meredith was a teacher by trade and was still teaching kindergarten at Embry Hills Preschool. She was an active member of Living Grace Lutheran Church in Tucker where she served on council, altar guild, choir, and pretty much anything that needed to be done.

Meredith is survived by her husband, Michael Alan Collver (The Mayor), her son, Charles Michael Collver (Dutch), daughter-in-law Kathryn Leigh Collver, son, Douglas Martin Collver, and daughter-in-law Yasmin Collver-Zaki. She is also survived by three grandchildren: Noah Benjamin Collver, Ryan Elizabeth Collver and Leo Alexander Collver-Zaki.

Meredith was also a cherished sister and aunt. She is also survived by her brother Charles Douglas Reineke (Carol) and by her sister Lynn Reineke Goodson and by nephews Greg, Chuck, Derek and Jeremy and niece Meegan.

Meredith joins her two daughters that predeceased her: Mollie Kathleen Collver and Jenny Elizabeth Collver.

There will be a burial on Tuesday, February 17, at 11:00am at Greenwood Cemetery, located at 1173 Cascade Circle SW, Atlanta, GA 30311. This will be a short graveside service and is open to everyone.

There will be a memorial service on Sunday, February 22, at 3pm at Living Grace Lutheran Church, located at 1812 Cooledge Road, Tucker, GA 30084. This will be livestreamed at livinggracelutheran.org

Please join us at one or both events as we celebrate, remember, and reminisce on the life of such a kind wife, mother, grandmother, mentor, and teacher to many.

We were all lucky to have her in our life. She truly was a kind and gentle soul and will be missed, but her light will continue to shine brightly!

Donations can be made to Living Grace Lutheran Church livinggracelutheran.org or the Gordon Corsetti Mental Agility Foundation mentallyagile.com. Flowers can be purchased on this obituary page or through any local flower shops.

View Meredith Kimball Collver's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

02/12/2026

Murall Dee Hancock

Capt. Murall D. Hancock

March 25, 1934 - February 10, 2026

Capt. Murall D. Hancock, age 91, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2026, in Decatur, Georgia, surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

Born on March 25, 1934, in Sloans Valley, Kentucky, Murall was the son of Theodore and Ida Hancock. From the hills of Kentucky, he carried with him a steady work ethic, faith, generosity, and a quiet strength that would define his life.

Murall joined the United States Air Force as a young man and worked with SAC where he was stationed at Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia. It was there that he met the love of his life, Peggy Sue Futral and married her on June 8, 1957. After their marriage, some travel, and some kids, they made their home in Atlanta, where Murall began what would become a remarkable 32-year career as a pilot with Delta Air Lines.

As a Delta captain, Murall flew millions of miles and helped shape the next generation of aviators. He had the distinct honor of training the first female pilot in the fleet, audited hundreds of flights as a AAD Line Check Airman, and eventually retired as one of Delta's Top 100 senior pilots - a testament to his skill, dedication, and steady leadership in the cockpit.

But he was much better known as "Popsy," than "Captain."

To his gaggle of grandchildren, he was the cool one - the one who taught them to fish, ride bikes, and swim. They followed him around his garage, into the garden, down trails, under the ocean, and up Stone Mountain. He sang to them "Can't Help Falling in Love," "The Prayer," and "Magic Moments" with gusto. He taught them how to invest in stocks, how to think wisely, how to do "adult" things. He cooked a little, but ate enthusiastically, and he showed up - again and again - for the people he loved.

10 out of 10, would absolutely recommend as a father and grandfather.

Murall is survived by his four children: Chris (Jill), Chuck (Tamara), Robin, and David (Maria); his grandchildren: Melissa (Tobias), Courtney (Kris), Amelia (William), Eilis (Matt), Lydia (Clay), Katherine, Neil, Emory, Nathan, Eric, Sam, Charlotte, and Sophia; his great-grandchildren: Caleb, Payton, Jolene, Tobin, Emerson, Penelope, Deacon, Roman; and his great-great-grandchildren: Wade and Ryder.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 59 years, Peggy Sue Hancock - "Momsy" - with whom he now spends eternity in the presence of our loving Father, Jesus Christ.

To quote one of his favorite lyrics "Lead us to a place, guide us with your grace. Give us faith so we'll be safe."

His family will celebrate his life in a private ceremony.

View Murall Dee Hancock's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.

02/11/2026

Paul S. Sharian

Mr. Paul Samuel Sharian, a lifelong Decatur resident, passed away peacefully at home on February 10, 2026. After graduating from Decatur Boys High School in 1945, and serving in the United States Army, Mr. Sharian completed a bachelors degree in business administration at Emory University. He then went to work in the family business for forty-seven years, a number those in which he served as president of Sharian Inc. He was known by friends and family as an avid Georgia Tech and Decatur High School football fan.

Mr. Sharian was a longtime member of Avondale Pattillo UMC, where he taught the W.E. Scott class for almost fifty years. He was a longtime member of the Decatur-Clairemont and Druid Hills Civitan Clubs. In retirement he volunteered at D.E.A.M. for a number of years.

Paul is survived by his children, Randy Sharian, Margaret (C.J.) Hilderbrand, and Lydia Sharian; brother, Bedros Sharian Jr., sister-in-law Frances Hoffmann, grandsons Paul (Bek) Hilderbrand and Phillip Hilderbrand, and great-grandsons, Elijah, Isaiah, and Josiah Hilderbrand; nephews Bedros Sharian III, Ritchie Sharian, and Billy Hampton; nieces, Beth Moore, Ruth Sharian Garner, and Gail Lippitt.

The family would especially like to thank Cleo Hayles for the loving care she gave our dad in his last days. Also a special thanks goes out to his grandson Phillip, who lived with, and helped care for Paul, for several years.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Asbury University Student Scholarship Fund.

1 Macklem Dr. Wilmore, KY 40390, or to Samaritans Purse PO Box 3000, Boone, NC 28607.

View Paul Samuel Sharian's obituary, send flowers, find service dates, and sign the guestbook.