John Franklin Grizzle

John Franklin (Frank) Grizzle, Jr., 85, of Buford, GA passed away Saturday, April 27, 2013. He is preceded in death by his parents, Frank Grizzle Sr. and Ruby Grizzle of Sugar Hill, GA and his sister Helen Waldron of Atlanta, GA. Frank, or Little Frank, as his childhood friends called him, is survived by his wife of 63 years, Bernice D. Grizzle, his sons John and Joe, and brothers Herman Grizzle of Cocoa, FL and Louie Grizzle of Buford, GA. Born August 23, 1927 in Sugar Hill, GA, Frank went on to serve in the United States Navy during World War II as a hospital corpsman. After his service, Frank went to work for Bona Allen, Inc. in Buford where he continued to work for 23 years. In the early 1970's, with several other partners, he formed Buford Bridal and Halter company and provided small leather goods to major distributors. Prior to his retirement, Frank work for the Gwinnett County School System at North Gwinnett High School providing support services for both the high school as well as the night school where his is remembered for his quick wit, clever stories and his generous, loving nature. Frank was a devout Christian Southern Baptist, and was involved his entire life in the church. He served the Lord for over 20 years as the music leader at Friendship Baptist Church in the Robert's Crossed Roads community of Buford, GA. At Friendship, he was also a member of the board of Deacons. Over the past years he served as an inactive deacon at both New Bethany Baptist Church and Zion Hill Baptist Church, both in Buford, GA. When he was twelve years old, Frank accepted Jesus as his Savior, was saved and used that opportunity to go witness to his brother, Herman. He was known by his fellow church members, family and friends as a bible scholar. He was well versed and could answer most any question about prophecy and quote the bible scriptures to support the answers. An avid bird hunter, Frank loved his time with buddies or alone shooting quail, grouse, doves and pheasant. He could spend hours talking about all of the places he has hunted, providing details of each area with fun stories of his hunting trips. He was also a huge fan of the Atlanta Braves. A memorial service and celebration of his life will be held on Tuesday, April 30, 2013 at 3:30 p.m. in the Chapel of Flanigan Funeral Home in Buford, GA. The service will be officiated by life-long family friend and Christian brother Dale Jones, and Rev. Danny Newbern, pastor of Zion Hill Baptist Church. The family will receive friends at the funeral home Monday, April 29, 2013 from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Interment will be held at Friendship Community Baptist Church Cemetery with military honors immediately following the service.