- Date Of Birth: August 18, 1934
- Date Of Death: August 21, 2018
- State: Georgia
Perry Darrel Phelps of Greensboro, Georgia died on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at Legacy Health & Rehabilitation in Greensboro following a recent illness but he had been in declining health since suffering a stroke in 2011. Darrel was born on August 18, 1934, son of the late Winthrop and Lucile Smith Phelps.
Darrel was a 1952 graduate of Greensboro High School, where he was a member of the varsity track team. He was also a 1958 graduate of The Georgia Institute of Technology, where he received a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. During the summer after high school, Darrel was seriously injured when the horse he was riding alongside Highway 15 spooked and threw him into the path of an oncoming vehicle. As a result, Darrel had to postpone his plans to attend Georgia Tech that fall. After months of recovery, he attended Georgia Military Academy for a semester then transferred to Georgia Tech.
Upon graduation, Darrel began his 32-year career with the Georgia Department of Transportation in the Athens office, working on what is now known as the Athens Bypass. He was then transferred to Atlanta and remained there until the big push to complete I-20. During that time, he worked out of the Madison and Greensboro offices and supervised all phases of construction of I-20 from Dekalb County to the South Carolina line.
Darrel and Bobble Lee were unable to take a honeymoon in 1958, so he loved to tell people they took a 20-year honeymoon after he retired. They traveled extensively, including all 50 states, Canada (all provinces), Mexico, Europe, Central and South America, Australia, and Africa. The vast majority of their travel in North America was in their RV, including two trips to Alaska. Darrel was an avid hunter, fisherman and general outdoorsman. For many years, he and friends enjoyed annual dove hunting trips to Mexico, Columbia or Argentina, his favorite of the three. He loved classic American sports cars, especially his blue and white 1959 Corvette convertible. Back in the day, Darrel and Bobbie Lee helped his father run a drag strip near Greensboro on Saturday nights. It was not unusual for them to enter the Corvette or their Chevy Nomad station wagon in a race!
Darrel spent countless hours serving his community.
In addition to his parents, Darrel was preceded in death by his wife, Bobbie Lee Allen Phelps, in December of 2010 and a son, Scott Darrin Phelps, in September of 1970. Darrel is survived by his daughter Rebecca (Becky) Lee Phelps Long, her husband William (Bill) Franklin Long III and their children, Samantha Claire Long and William Darrel Long of Atlanta, Georgia; sister, Geraldine Phelps Youngblood of Macon, Georgia and her daughters Cindy Aultman Lunsford of Savannah, Georgia and Rhonda Aultman Watwood of Macon, Georgia. Darrel also leaves behind other family and many friends. The family wishes to express their heartfelt gratitude to Virginia McCluskey for taking excellent care of Darrel at his home during his final two years.
