Dr. Ginger Minton Marine

Dr. Ginger Minton Marine, 70, of Ellijay, died unexpectedly Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Gainesville.

She was born in Tallahassee, Fla., July 21, 1952, to the late Richard and Louise Minton.

She is survived by  children, Amanda Evans, of Flowery Branch, David Marine, of Marshall, N.C.; Hannah Marine, of Decatur; and six grandchildren.

She served the children and parents of the Ellijay community for over 30 years in the classroom. She started her teaching career at Oakland Elementary School and finished her career at Ellijay Elementary.

Throughout this time, she worked tirelessly to help the underserved and underrepresented children of Gilmer County. In the classroom, she is probably best known and remembered for her storytelling. It was magic to be present for one of her readings.

Even after retirement she worked with the Gilmer High School mentorship program to support older learners in their academic successes. Helping the children of this county was her life’s work, and she was proud of each of them. It brought joy to her heart to be recognized by a previous student in the grocery store and hear how they were doing.

Another love was her animals. Her home and property were an open door to any creature that wandered up, except for perhaps the opossums that would go after her chickens. It was a running joke that she single-handedly funded the local animal hospital with the care of her animals over the years. Every life was sacred and needed to be cared for.

One of her favorite activities after retirement was simply sitting in her yard and spending time with her menagerie. Her heart was huge and there was room for everyone.

Her garden was her therapy. Each year it got a little smaller as she aged, but it was impossible to keep her from it. She was lucky to have wonderful neighbors who would come to help from time to time with the most arduous tasks.

Each winter, when the seed magazines would come, she would spend hours selecting old favorites and new varieties she would try that year. Sometimes she would just sit and admire it. This love of growing food was something she instilled in her children as well. This year’s garden was her best.

She did not ascribe to many of the traditions surrounding death and burial. To honor her memory and the lives she touched, a celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022, at Cartecay United Methodist Church.

Anyone who knew her is invited to attend and are requested to wear bright colors. Please bring a favorite picture or written memory of her if you have one to share with her family.

In lieu of flowers, donations in her memory can be made to Kids Ferst in Gilmer County or Gilmer Education Foundation (Gilmer County Board of Education office).