Wade Hughes Threlkeld

Mr. Wade Hughes Threlkeld, age 86, of Reidsville, Georgia, passed away on Sunday, November 8, 2026. He was born in Vidalia, Georgia, on November 26, 1939, to Howard Alexander Threlkeld and Tiny Mann Threlkeld as one of six siblings. He graduated from Vidalia High School in 1957 and attended the University of Georgia, where he met his wife of 67 years, Ruth Leigh Jelks Threlkeld.

Managing one of the family-owned businesses in Vidalia, Wade and Leigh settled in Reidsville and soon expanded the footprint of Southern Hardware Company to a second store there. In 1988, Wade sold the hardware business and started a second career in real estate sales and appraisals, eventually becoming a certified appraiser. In his spare time, he was a passionate wing shooter and amateur ornithologist, becoming an award-winning bird and duck decoy carver. He traveled the Eastern Seaboard competing in duck decoy carving competitions.

Wade is preceded in death by his parents, Howard Alexander Threlkeld and Tiny Mann Threlkeld; his two brothers, George Howard Threlkeld and Gene Cue Threlkeld, and their wives, Pauline Hughes Threlkeld and Freddie Gillis Threlkeld; his two sisters, Sarah Helen Threlkeld Darby and Joyce Threlkeld Moorman, and their husbands, James Darby Jr. and Banks Addison Moorman; his father-in-law, Louis Rollwage Jelks, and mother-in-law, Ruth Goddard Jelks; his brother-in-law, Louis Rollwage Jelks Jr.; and his nephew, Howard Hughes Threlkeld.

Wade is survived by his wife, Ruth Leigh Jelks Threlkeld; his two sons, Wade Brian Threlkeld and Craig Hughes Threlkeld, and their wives, Jane Durrence Threlkeld and Tammi Jones Threlkeld; his granddaughters, Edie Brianne Threlkeld, Emily Elizabeth Threlkeld, Samantha Ellen Threlkeld, and Rachel Kate Threlkeld; his brother, Reid Alexander Threlkeld, and his wife, Sheri Johnson Threlkeld; his niece, Lindsey Threlkeld Santos, and her husband, Kleber R. Santos; his nephew, Alexander Andrew Threlkeld, and his wife, Whitney Lanier Threlkeld; his nephew, George Larry Threlkeld, and his wife, Susan Brown Threlkeld; and his niece, Connie Darby Williams, and her husband, Richard D. Williams.

A private service will be held Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at the Chapel of Low Country Cremation and Burial with Dr. David Donnan and Mr. Jackie Trim officiating.   

In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Community Hospice in Vidalia, Georgia.

Low Country Cremation and Burial have the honor to serve the Threlkeld family.