[Oe List ...] Ike Powell obituary

[ML Jones]

We will miss Ike's smile and great attitude although we have not seen him
in many years. I will always remember Joe talking about marching into
Heaven with "the Blue".  We are thankful for Ike's contributions and gifts
to ICA and the world,  Mary Laura and Ken

Mary Laura Jones
Grants Resource Development Consultant
53599 Pulver Road
Three Rivers, MI 49093
cell: 773 636-2022
mljones2022 at gmail.com


On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 11:45 AM englewoman--- via OE <
oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

> Oops! This came to wrong "Elizabeth's email .  Beth Engleman
>
> On Tuesday, December 2, 2025 at 06:04:55 AM EST, clingojr--- via OE <
> oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
>
>
> Thank you Elizabeth!  If you plan to join us at 1pm today, perhaps we can
> share a meal with your artist friend afterwards in a Decatur restaurant.
> Take care in the midst of a rainy day.  Charles
>
> On Monday, December 1, 2025 at 03:25:53 PM EST, E. Caperton via OE <
> oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:
>
>
> Ike Garber Powell died peacefully on November 21, 2025, in La Mesa,
> California, surrounded by his children—Julie, John, and Joseph—and his
> wife, Charlene. He was born on January 7, 1938, in the small southern town
> of Cairo, Georgia, a son of John Augustus Powell II and Velva Lois Garber.
> He was deeply devoted to his family and his lifelong work in marginalized
> communities.
>
> As a teenager, Ike rose early to deliver 1200 eggs a day in his Model A
> Ford. He was an Eagle Scout and a football standout who set long-standing
> track records at Cairo High School. However, it was his involvement in the
> First United Methodist Church of Cairo, and immersion in the southern
> conservative Christian tradition, that set him on his spiritual journey of
> service and discovery.
>
> Ike earned degrees from Duke and Emory in psychology and religion as well
> as graduate work in pastoral counselling from Columbia Theological
> Seminary. While at Emory, he met the love of his life, Charlene Cronier.
> After taking his divinity degree, he briefly served as a minister in the
> Capitol Homes project in Atlanta before choosing ‘social’ over ‘parish’
> work. With his family, he spent more than 20 years with the Institute of
> Cultural Affairs (ICA), living in and working with impoverished rural and
> urban neighborhoods in the U.S. and abroad, helping empower people to
> improve their lives and communities.
>
> As Director of Training for the Appalachian Consulting Group (ACG), Ike
> played a pivotal role in institutionalizing peer support within Georgia’s
> mental-health system. Beginning with Georgia’s first statewide Certified
> Peer Specialist (CPS) program in 2001, he helped design and deliver
> training that enabled people with lived experience of mental illness to
> work as Medicaid-funded peer supporters. He later co-developed the “Peer
> Support Whole Health and Resiliency”model, expanding peer support into
> holistic, wellness-oriented recovery. His work helped make Georgia a
> national leader and inspired similar programs across the country.After a
> lifetime alongside people from varied backgrounds, Ike came to believe the
> greatest powers shaping his life were love, awareness, freedom, and
> gratitude. He believed in love for all of creation, awareness of our
> current reality and its imaginable possibilities, freedom to act on that
> awareness, and gratitude for the mystery and wonder of life.
>
> We will miss his compassion, leadership, wisdom, jokes, and stories.
>
> Ike is survived by his wife, Charlene Powell; his children and their
> spouses Julie and John Bertram, John Powell and Jane Springer, Joseph
> Powell and Kira Blaskovich; his grandchildren Keightley, Karri, Kathryn,
> Morrison, Dylan, and Calvin; and his great grandchild, Nora Charlene. He
> requested a graveside service in Cairo, Georgia, at a future date when he
> and Charlene can be interred together. His family is planning a celebration
> of life after the holidays and welcomes remembrances. Please share
> withJulie (jbertram520 at gmail.com). In lieu of flowers, please make
> donations in his name to the Georgia Mental Health Consumer Network.
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