Wayne T. Brantley, Sr.

Mr. Wayne T. Brantley, Sr., 81, of Vidalia, passed away Monday, March 30, 2026.

A native of Toombs County, Wayne spent most of his life in Vidalia. He graduated from Vidalia High School in 1962, where he played football, earned All-American honors, and was inducted into the Vidalia High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He went on to attend the University of Georgia, graduating in 1966 with a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Arts. While at Georgia, he was a four-year starting offensive right guard for the Bulldogs under Coach Vince Dooley. A lifelong Georgia football fan, he was honored alongside his teammates at several games “Between the Hedges” as a member of the underdog team that famously defeated Bear Bryant’s Alabama in the SEC Championship with the iconic flea-flicker play. In 2015, he received the Post-Graduate Achievement Award from the UGA Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame. He was a dedicated citizen of Vidalia, serving on the boards of the Paul Anderson Youth Home and Darby Bank. He built wooden ramps for Open Doors to the Handicapped and started the Sammy Galloway scholarship with his former high school classmates to honor their dear friend who was killed in Vietnam.

Wayne began his career in education, teaching school and coaching football at Greenwood High School in Greenwood, South Carolina. He later returned to Vidalia in the early 1970s to join the family business, Brantley Furniture. He went on to acquire and expand the business, renaming it Brantley Furniture and Floor Covering, which he operated for more than 35 years.

He was a member of the Vidalia Kiwanis Club, First Baptist Church of Vidalia, and the Adult Men’s Sunday School Class. Wayne had a natural gift for drawing, enjoyed dove and deer hunting, racquetball, tennis, paintball, and was an avid NASCAR fan.

He is preceded in death by the love of his life, Karen Williams Brantley, and his parents, Thomas Brooks Brantley and Daisy Davis Brantley.

He is survived by his five children, Kelly Stuckless and husband Craig of Vidalia; Tom Brantley and Lisa Olander of Omaha, Nebraska; Shannon Kahn and husband William of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey; Allison Spivey and husband Michael of Ailey; and Helen Newland and Jason Newland of Kansas City, Kansas; one sister, Judy Brantley Googe of Hogansville; nine grandchildren, Jake Stuckless and wife Ally, Noah Stuckless and wife Julie, Olivia Warnock and husband Jackson, Isabella Kahn, Marc Kahn, Will Newland, Ilsa Newland, Anna Newland, and Keely Nadekow; one great-grandson, Brooks Warnock; four brothers-in-law, Roland Williams and wife Becky, Dewey Williams and wife Betty Dell, Mike Williams and wife Jeannie, and Doug Williams and wife Lisa; along with numerous nieces and nephews.

The funeral service will be held Saturday, April 4, 2026, at 12:00 noon in the chapel of Ronald V. Hall Funeral Home with Reverend Don Moye officiating. Interment will follow at Lakeview Memorial Gardens.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday morning from 10:00 until just prior to the service.

Pallbearers are his grandchildren: Jake Stuckless, Noah Stuckless, Jackson Warnock, Will Newland, Olivia Warnock, Isabella Kahn, Ilsa Newland, and Anna Newland.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sammy Galloway Scholarship Fund, c/o Vidalia High School, 901 North St. West, Vidalia, GA 30474.

In honor of Wayne, family and friends are encouraged to wear UGA colors.

Ronald V. Hall Funeral Home of Vidalia is in charge of arrangements.

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