Mrs. Jessie Paul, 86, of Swainsboro passed away on September 26, 2022 at Emanuel County Nursing Home after an extended illness.  A private graveside service was held on October 3 ^rd in Dellwood at Forest Lawn Cemetery.  Mrs. Paul was the firstborn child of Henry Orland and Vella Morris.  She was born in October of 1935 in Lafayette, Georgia.  She graduated high school in Lafayette where she was the first runner up in the Miss Lafayette High School beauty pageant.

She dated and married her high school sweetheart and captain of the football team, Kenneth Putnam.  They lived in the Lafayette area and had four children Janice, Kenny, Sue Zanne and Charlie.  Then in 1966 the family moved to Vidalia, Georgia where Kenneth pastored several Baptist churches in and around the Vidalia, Oak Park, Nunez and Kite area.

In 1975, at the age of 40, she enrolled in and graduated from the practical nursing program at Swainsboro Area Vocational Technical School.  She went on to pass her state boards on the first attempt.  During this time, she and Kenneth divorced.  A year later she met and married Gerald Paul of Wadley and they had one child, Tjede Savannah.  Mrs. Paul worked as an LPN for several years at Glendale Nursing Home in Wadley, Old Capitol Inn Nursing Home in Louisville and Shepherd Hills Nursing Home in Lafayette.

After her retirement she spent her time caring for her pets which included chickens, ducks, goats and an assortment of cats and dogs. She also enjoyed searching for driftwood and making floral arrangements for friends and family.  Berry picking season was her favorite time of year, she absolutely loved picking and sharing.  She was one that never met a stranger and would often entertain them with her colorful jokes and animal adventures.

She was preceded in death by her parents Henry Orland Morris and Vella Cooper Morris, her sister Peggy Morris Holleman, her husbands Kenneth Putnam and Gerald Paul and her grandson Aaron Putnam.

She is survived by her children Jan Brantley (David), Sue Zanne Culpepper, Kenny  Putnam, Charlie Putnam and Tjede Savannah Howard.  She is also survived by nine grandchildren:   Amanda Bell (Brandon), Logan Brantley (Haley), Michael Putnam, Chaley Harris, Kaitlyn (Max) Harris, Anna Johnson, Christie (Mickey), Christina Dodd (Kenny), Kevin Briggman (Krystal).  She is also survived by several great grandchildren.