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Note: JERRY L. WIDNER .Jerry L. Widner, a resident of Donalsonville, Georgia and also of Riverview Forest Estates on Lake Eufaula in Henry County, Alabama, died Monday morning, April 10, 2006, in the emergency room of a Dothan hospital. He was 59. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 A. M. (E. D. T.) Thursday, April 13, 2006, in the Ft. Gaines Baptist Church with Reverend Jeff Hines and Reverend Perry Hearn officiating. Burial will follow in the New Park Cemetery in Ft. Gaines. Holman-Abbeville Mortuary, Abbeville, Alabama is in charge of funeral arrangements. The family will receive friends from 5:00 until 7:00 P. M. (C.D.T.) Wednesday at the mortuary in Abbeville, Alabama. At other times, the family will be at the Lake Eufaula residence, 701 Douglas Drive, Riverview Forest Estates, Abbeville. Flowers will be accepted or memorial contributions may be made to the Ft. Gaines Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 248, Ft. Gaines, Ga. 39851. Mr. Widner was born and reared in the Griggs Community in Miller County, Georgia, between Colquitt and Blakely. He was a 1964 graduate of Miller County High School. Mr. Widner had been employed since 1967 as a mechanic by Georgia Pacific Container Board, Cedar Springs Operation, Cedar Springs, Georgia. He was a Deacon and Sunday School teacher in the Ft. Gaines Baptist Church. He was a former member and Deacon in the Rocky Ridge Baptist Church, near Donalsonville. Mr. Widner was also a member of the 1864 Mechanical Maintenance Union and was an avid bass fisherman and hunter. He had lived in Donalsonville since 1968 and also established a home on Lake Eufaula in 2003. Mr. Widner was preceded in death by his father, William Leslie Widner. Surviving relatives include his wife, Grace Brooks Widner, a resident of Donalsonville and also Lake Eufaula; a daughter, Michelle Robinett, Marietta, Ga.; a son, Jerry Chris Widner and his wife, Charity Widner, Colquitt, Ga.; his mother, Louvenia Holt Widner, Colquitt, Ga.; a sister, Gail Thompson and her husband, Felix Thompson, Blakely, Ga.; two brothers, Broadus Widner, Juneau, Alaska; Bobby Widner and his wife, Martha Widner, Albany, Ga.; four grandsons, Alex Robinett, Zachary Robinett, Lan Widner and Ridge Widner; special friends, Amanda and Scott Varnum and their children, Mattie, Sadie, Cassie and Hydie Varnum, all of Florala, Alabama; several aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.
Georgia Pacific worker is killed
A deadly accident at a plant in Early County is under investigation, a company spokeswoman said.
Alan Mauldin
ALBANY � A Donalsonville man died from injuries sustained Monday morning at the Georgia Pacific plant in Cedar Springs, a plant spokeswoman said.
Jerry Widner, 59, died as a result of a release of pressure as he was working on a major project inside the plant, said Celia Bostwick, plant communications manager.
No one else was injured in the accident, Bostwick said, and rumors that an explosion occurred at the plant are untrue.
Widner worked as a mechanic in the garage and was a 39-year employee at the container board operation in Early County, she said. He was not working on the equipment that caused his death, but was nearby when the accident occurred.
One killed in paper mill fall submitted by Staff Writer Cedar Springs - Jerry Widner, 59, formerly of Miller County, was killed Monday morning, while at work at the Georgia Pacific plant in Cedar Springs. According to reports from Celia Bostwick, plant communication manager, the accident victim was on a catwalk with a co-worker, Johnny Creel, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Monday morning, and a release of steam possibly caused Widner to lose his footing, and he fell approximately 20 feet causing severe head injuries. Widner was transported by ambulance to a Dothan, AL hospital where he died. Mr. Creel was uninjured. Mr. Widner has worked at the Cedar Springs paper plant for over 39 years. �He was a friend to all of his co-workers and he will be missed,� Ms. Bostwick continued. Mr. Widner and his wife, Grace, have two children, Chris and Michelle. He and his wife had recently built a home near Lake Eufaula, where they planned to retire in about two more years. The preliminary plans are to have the deceased at an Abbeville, AL funeral home, with the funeral being held Thursday, April 13. More information will be in the next edition, and the obituary will be placed on the www.millercountyliberal.com website as soon as the information is available. Jerry Widner is the son of Louvenia Widner and the late Leslie Widner of Colquitt.
"He is a very well thought of employee here at Cedar Springs operations," Bostwick said.
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration was notified, and the accident is under investigation, Bostwick said.
A grief counselor also is available for employees, she said.
"This was his family," said. "He was a very special person."
OSHA officials could not be contacted for comment Monday evening.
Ray Jarrett, the Early County emergency management director, said a deputy notified him of the accident at about 10:30 a.m. Monday while he was busy with another call. He said the company did not contact his office.
"That's kind of surprising," he said. "I was kind of surprised there was not more information than there was."
The plant employs 704 people working in three shifts, Bostwick said.
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