GEORGIA RUTH SHUMATE, age 77 years of Forest Hill, Maryland died at 5:13 p.m. on Sunday, February 26, 2006 at Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace, Maryland where she had been in the intensive care unit for five weeks. She was the wife of the late Jack Billings, the late Talmadge Sturgill and the late George Shumate.

Mrs. Shumate was born in Sparta, North Carolina on March 16, 1928, a daughter of the late Robert and Jennie (Hodge) Brinegar. For more than fifty years, she has resided in Harford County, Maryland. A well loved and hard working woman, for the past twenty-five years, she worked a full time schedule maintaining the homes and gardens of the Caron and Silver families in Bel Air, Maryland until her sudden stroke in January. Her family, friends and work were the focus of her life, but when the opportunity presented itself, you could find her having a great time on the dance floor.

She is survived by:

Two daughters-

Ruth Ann Dowell and her husband Gerald of Havre de Grace, Maryland

Wanda Lee Gill and her husband Kenneth of Street, Maryland

Five grandchildren and six great grandchildren.

Five sisters-

Rosalee Sturgill , JoAnn Johnson, and Nancy Ratcliff, all of Sparta, North Carolina

Imajean Cantler and Jessie Stanley, both of Laurel Springs, North Carolina

Two brothers-

Robert Brinegar and Richard Brinegar, both of Sparta, North Carolina

Her loving and devoted companion of fourteen years, William Burnell of Aston, Pennsylvania

Funeral services will be held on Thursday, March 2, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. at the Harkins Funeral Home, 600 Main Street, Delta, Pennsylvania.

Officiating will be Pastor Timothy J. Hodge of the Liberty Christian Center, Pylesville, Maryland.

Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Wednesday evening from 7 to 9 p.m.

Interment will be in Bel Air Memorial Gardens in Bel Air, Maryland.

Pallbearers are: Christian Dowell, Daniel Dowell, Joseph Dowell, Matthew Dowell, Michael Dowell and Steven Dowell.