David Bryan Poythress

   Lt. Gen. (Ret.) David Bryan Poythress, of Atlanta, passed away on

Sunday, January 15, 2017.  Poythress served our nation and state with

distinction in many capacities including serving as Georgia Secretary of

State, Labor Commissioner and Adjutant General – the commander of the

Georgia Army and Air National Guard.

   Born in Macon on October 24, 1943, Poythress attended Bibb County public

schools and played football at Lanier High for Boys.  His father, John

Maynor Poythress, worked for the city water department, his mother, Dorothy

Bayne Poythress, was a school teacher, and they were founding members of

Riverside Methodist Church in Macon.

   Poythress attended Emory at Oxford, and earned his degree and his

commission as an US Air Force officer at Emory University in Atlanta, where

he also earned his law degree in 1967.  A life-long servant leader, his

career has included public service, military service, and private law

practice.

   Poythress served four years (1967-1971) on active duty in the U.S. Air

Force as a judge advocate officer.  He volunteered for duty in Viet Nam and

served one year as defense counsel and Chief of Military Justice at DaNang

Air Base, in the Republic of Viet Nam.  Following his active duty,

Poythress continued his military service in the Air Force Reserve,

attaining the rank of Brigadier General before retiring in 1998.  As the

senior Reserve legal officer attached to 9th Air Force, he was called to

active duty to help oversee the use of Reserve legal resources in the

continental United States during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

   In his civilian life, Poythress practiced law in Atlanta, with

concentrations in taxation and public finance.  Prior to seeking elective

office, he held several positions in Georgia state government, including

Assistant Attorney General, Deputy State Revenue Commissioner and Secretary

of State.  In 1992 he was elected statewide to the office of State Labor

Commissioner and was re-elected in 1994.  Poythress unsuccessfully ran for

Governor of Georgia in 1998 and 2010.

   In 1999, Governor Roy Barnes appointed Poythress Adjutant General – the

commander of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard - in the rank of Major

General.  He was reappointed in 2002 by Governor Sonny Perdue, who also

promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant General - the first Adjutant General

in Georgia history to wear three stars.  As leader of this 13,000 member

organization he led the organization to win the Georgia Oglethorpe Award

for organization excellence (Malcolm Baldridge criteria and examiners).

Poythress had overall responsibility for two brigade level deployments to

Bosnia (2000) and Iraq (2005).  In addition to leading Guard members in

first response to Hurricane Katrina, he also served on the command cell of

the Georgia Homeland Security Task Force from September 12, 2001 until his

retirement in 2007.

   Poythress has held several local and national leadership positions. He

served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the National Guard Association of

the United States and was a member of the Board of Directors of Jobs for

America's Graduates.  He served two terms as Chairman of the Board of the

State YMCA of Georgia and served on the boards of Common Cause Georgia,

Wesley Homes and the Atlanta Day Shelter for Women.  He was a Rotarian, a

Mason and member of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the

USO, the Sigma Chi Fraternity and Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.

   Recently, Poythress has worked as a consultant and advisor to a number

of international companies in the defense industry.  He passed away at Duke

University Hospital where he was seeking treatment for a lung condition.  A

memorial service is being planned.  In lieu of flowers, the family asks you

to consider a gift in his memory to the State YMCA of Georgia ( ymcaga.org/donate) or the Georgia National Guard Family Support Foundation ( georgiaguardfamily.org/donate).

   Poythress was predeceased by his parents and brother John Maynard

Poythress, Jr. and is survived by wife Elizabeth, sister Eva Higgins, son

Cullen Gray Poythress, stepdaughters Candace Pinnisi (John), Kristin

Placito (Frank), eight grandchildren, one great grandchild, niece Leigh

Poythress Wilson and nephews Randel Whitfield Higgins and Mirabeau Lamar

Higgins.

References

• [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Poythress] Wikipedia
• [https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/macon/name/david-poythress-obi...] Obituary