Delphia Isom

November 11, 1927-January 18, 2014 Delphia Inez Carnes, 86, sweet spirit of Suwanee, GA winged beyond earthly vigilance on January 18, 2014. She lived cheerfully at home, attended closely by family, except for the last days of extraordinary care: eight, at Gwinnett Medical Center and three, in Peachtree Christian Hospice. Formerly of Hart County, she lived and worked (1974-1990) in Stone Mountain, and enjoyed 23 years of retirement in Suwanee. Inez was the daughter of John Sibley and Clara Herring Carnes; the grand-daughter of Jason "Jake" and "Delphie" Sanders Carnes, and James L. and Leila Burden Herring; the niece of her dear "Aunt Bessie" Sanders Carter, the sister of James Inman and Carl Hubbell Carnes, and the wife of her one beloved, Edgar Harrison Isom (1920-1965). A model of perseverance and integrity, Inez moved through her days with motherly purpose. All her ways and words were gentle, uncomplaining, and uncritical. Work, hymns, and music sustained her through the sorrow and challenges of young widowhood. The Suwanee years were filled with trail walking, coast-to-coast road trips with daughter, old movies and popcorn with son, and fresh-air-work-in-the-yards with Kitty-Kat. As her cherished memories of pastures, wild berry picking, school days, schoolmates, kith and kin dimmed, she held on to memorized poems she learned as a young girl. Hearing her recite lines from William Cullen Bryant as late as 2007 was an ongoing testament to the outstanding teachers of Hart County during the Depression and WWII years. Her beautiful, flowing penmanship and expressive reading voice were notable to all who saw and heard. Later, she said the Lord's Prayer at every turn and repeated, "The highest form of wisdom is kindness." Old hymns played on the keyboard always brought a glorious smile and rhythmic movement of her hands. "Haley," she would say as she followed the prismatic bubble in which child Inez sang with Haley Phillips Sanders at the piano. Classical piano was her nightly companion for decades. The last two years, she rode shotgun from her wheelchair and charmed her best buddy, Mr. Bob, with happy outbursts of "whick-whack-what-the-hell-was-that" and "you-know-I haven't-seen-Edgar-for-a-long-time...a-long-time-but-he's-around-here-somewhere." B.J. Gailey looked forward to driving "Miss Delphie." The tongue that had never slipped now had cycles of mild heat, but the commentary was low and to herself. This new personality provided comic relief to the heartbreaking reality. "Damn-damn-damn." Surviving are daughter, Angela Gail Isom, Suwanee, GA; son, Roger Lee Isom, Woodbridge, VA; and a flock of long-ago treasured cousins and in-laws, and a covey of nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews. Whatever family likenesses Kevin and Charlene Carnes (Phoenix, AZ) see in the faces of Abbigale and Amelia, we in Georgia, see in them the smiling eyes of Inez and the natural flash of Carnes-Herring expression that surely "stole our hearts away." The family is deeply grateful to the doctors, nurses, techs, and caregivers at Gwinnett Medical Center and Peachtree Christian Hospice. Special thanks are given to Dorothy Sharpe, CNA, for her gentle ministry to Mother on the morning of January 18. A private memorial service will take place in the spring. Until then, Inez is "back home." Mama's life reflected her old name, most popular in the twenties. Inez, from Spanish and earlier Greek, means "pure." Memorial donations may be made to Veterans of Foreign Wars, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, or the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.