Henry Green

Rutland, Jr.

Henry G. Rutland, Jr., 81, of Thomasville, passed away on Tuesday, September 20, 2022 at his residence. Funeral Services will be held at Whiddon Shiver Funeral Home on Friday, September 23, 2022 at 2:00 pm with Dewayne Franks officiating. Visitation will be held one hour prior to the service from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm in the funeral home Chapel. Pallbearers will be; Robert Fitzgerald, Justin Barclay, Matthew Fitzgerald, Alex Everett, and Todd Milam. Honorary Pallbearers will be all of his current and former band members and friends he played music with. He will be laid to rest at Laurel Hill Cemetery. Henry was born on October 14, 1940 in Bibb County, GA, to the late Henry Green Rutland, Sr. and Lucille Gilmore Rutland. He married Camilla Vionne Long Rutland, who preceded him in death on May 20, 2017. He was a graduate of Tift High School and was a member of the U.S. National Guard. He worked for the DOT as a surveyor with the State of Georgia, and Colquitt County as an engineer with the road and bridge department . He was a Mason for over 50 years with Masonic Lodge #369 in Thomasville. Throughout the years he played in several bluegrass bands and was well known for playing the fiddle. He was inducted as a member of the Atlanta Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Florida Country Music Hall of Fame for his talent. He was a member of Friendship Baptist Church in Metcalf. Survivors include; nieces & nephews, Robert Henry Fitzgerald of Ocala, FL, Angela Stokes of Oxford, FL, Benjamin Dewayne Franks of Springfield, GA, Stephanie Everett, Natalie Bray, Justin Barclay, all of Thomasville, Daphne Martin of Atlanta, GA, and Candy Crowley of Mobile, AL. In addition to his wife and parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, Anne Rutland Franks.