S. Wayne Epps

Sterling Wayne Epps, Sr., 77, of Lincolnton, Georgia, passed away peacefully at his home on Friday, January 28, 2022.

Wayne was born June 1, 1944, in Macon, Georgia, to Sterling Austin Epps and Annie Ruth Chastain Epps.  Spending his early years in Macon, he moved with his family to the Augusta, Georgia, area when he was still a child.  In 1970, he moved his own family to Lincolnton, Georgia, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Born into a loving but modest family, he had a rural Southern upbringing.  Described by friends as the quintessential maverick, he set his vision early in life far beyond the conventional occupational landscape available to rural Southerners of the time period and claimed for himself an impressive level of success.  Molding himself into an entrepreneur, he became a keen businessman, achieving success in nearly every business venture that he ever pursued.  At the mere age of twenty-six, he went into business for himself—quite a feat in that era—moving to Lincolnton to purchase Home Café.   He successfully ran several businesses at once, starting his own boat dock business while also running the restaurant.  He eventually opened a chain of convenience stores that he called Dixie Quick Shop, and he effectually owned and operated the stores in multiple counties throughout the CSRA until his retirement in his fifties.

His maverick spirit often led him to break free of conventional mores and distinguish himself through the use of innovative techniques. During his years building boat docks, finding the traditional bar joist construction of typical docks to be unsightly, he pioneered the use of the junior I-beam in the construction of his docks.  Multiple examples of his docks can still be seen along the Clarks Hill Lake shoreline to this day.

He loved his children.  Wanting to give them a head start in life, he gifted each of them a new car during their senior year in high school and offered them the opportunity for a college education.

Described by friends as both fun-loving and generous, he was also a favorite at family gatherings and loved telling humorous stories and playing practical jokes.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Marilyn Bishop; his infant brother, Ray Neill Epps; his brother, Curtis Epps; and his partner, Merry Jo Etheredge.

Survivors include his children, Sterling Wayne Epps, Jr., Sheila Epps Wilkes (Billy), and Tara Epps; his sisters, Barbara Epps, Cathy Epps Rickerson (Raymond), and Carol Epps Pitts (Neal); his grandchildren, Tre Epps (Deidre), Tyler Epps, Brooke Epps Barnes (Andre), Amberly Wilkes Lin (Jordan), Will Wilkes, Chance Epps, Andre Freeman, and Canaan Harris; and multiple great grandchildren, as well as nieces and nephews.

Visitation is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Monday, January 31, at Beggs Funeral Home in Lincolnton.  Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, February 1, in the chapel at Bellevue Memorial Gardens in Grovetown.  Interment will follow in the Bellevue Memorial Gardens cemetery.  Pallbearers include Billy Wilkes, Mike McCombs, Floyd Marlow, Frankie Rachels, Kevin Beggs, and Keith Beggs.