Maurice Willard Kiser Jr

With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Maurice Willard Kiser, Jr., age 96, of Athens, GA, on July 28, 2026. Maurice stayed with us as long as he could while battling colon cancer, being supported and loved by, and loving in return, many neighbors, friends, and family.

Maurice is survived by his two sons, William Mark Kiser, (wife Selena Kiser), Manley Kiser, his cherished granddaughter Molly Lou Kiser and her older sister Olivia Harvey, sisters Dana Combs (James Arthur) and Virginia (Ginny) Fergusson, brothers Roger Kiser (Shirley) and Winston Kiser (Glenna), and many wonderful nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 50 years, Martha Lou Cox, and two brothers, Lynn Kiser and Bernard Kiser.

Maurice was the oldest of seven children born to Maurice Kiser, Sr. and Etta Susan Cooper. He grew up with his brothers and sisters in a home in the beautiful mountains of southwest Virginia. He was a graduate of Temple Hill School, and later, the Business University of Bowling Green, KY, where God blessed him with meeting Martha. They shared the similar background of growing up with their families on farms where you ate what you grew and raised, gathered and worshipped on Sundays, and spent much of your time in God's creation.

At his family farm near Lebanon, Virgina he remembered his mom's daily supply of biscuits, carrying water with his siblings from a nearby spring for all their cooking and cleaning needs, helping his dad install electricity in their house, walking more than a mile to catch the school bus, and waking up to snowflakes on the bed covers some mornings. His first job was at a local sawmill which produced timbers for coal mines in the region. Maurice left home when he was 18 and he kept returning until he was 95. His favorite event each year was the family reunion back on the Virginia farm that Winston and Glenna still steward.

Maurice worked as an accountant for many years for PET Dairies. His job with PET took him to Johnson City (where he started his formal training in accounting), and then to Greenville, SC. There, he was drafted for the Korean War in 1951 and was assigned to the 758th Field Artillery infantry group at Fort Bragg, NC. After two years in service stateside, he went to Columbia, SC again to work with PET, which was when he decided to use the GI Bill to finish his schooling in Bowling Green, KY. There, he lived in the boarding house of Ma Murphy where many students (including Western Kentucky football players) gathered for meals. It was there and then that he met his beloved wife, Martha (thank you Jesus, what an incredible wife and mother). Although she passed in 2008 after her own courageous battle with cancer, he was still wearing his wedding ring when he departed this world (he knew what a wonderful partner God gave him).

Maurice and Martha started their life together in 1957. It wasn't long before they relocated to Atlanta (1958), where they took up residence at Twin Oaks apartments. Maurice remembered at that time having to be on a waiting list for a place to stay.

In 1963, Maurice and Martha purchased their first and only house together on Schoel Drive in Medlock Heights. Here they raised their two sons, and became active members in the Medlock community for many decades. They always believed in being good neighbors, and opened their home to many of them during the holidays. During the big Atlanta ice storm in 1973, quite a few of the neighbors even took shelter in their home while the city went without power for days. They in turn were loved by many.

Maurice loved being outdoors - gardening, fishing, bird hunting, and later birding as well. His favorite fishing spot was then called Opossum Lake, owned by two sisters, who mutually enjoyed each other's company. The lake, now known as Lake Lucerne is on Hwy 78. Passing it many times while traveling to pick up his granddaughter in Suwanee, he never failed to tip his hat. Maurice loved the streams and rivers of North Georgia as well, where he took his sons and friends trout fishing.

He shared his love of the outdoors with his family, taking them on fishing trips to Stone Mountain on Sunday afternoons following church and a picnic meal of fried chicken from Krystal. Oftentimes the Carillon played hymns and American classics in the background. With his family he enjoyed camping trips to Jackrabbit Mountain in North Carolina and Cumberland Island on the Georgia coast, and he also loved exploring the Okefenokee Swamp.

When he was young, he gained an interest in woodworking from his Grandfather Cooper. In Decatur, he built a shop behind his house where he spent countless hours, the brick floor of which came from First Baptist Church where he later worked (he and Wallace Duvall spent many hours cleaning mortar off those bricks). In his shop he built furniture of cherry and oak, plus bird feeders, bat houses, and so much more. Later he turned beautiful wooden bowls, most of which he generously gave away to family, friends, and sometimes to folks he never met in person. During Manley's teenage years, his friends affectionately time spent with Maurice there as "wood shop talks."

Maurice was a longtime member of First Baptist Church of Decatur, where he also served as the business manager after leaving PET. He helped lead the Royal Ambassadors chapter at the church for many years, which included trips to the covered wagon camp in Jasper, Georgia, the cabins at Burnt Mountain, and outings to the Etowah Indian Mounds and Dobbins Air Force Base. During FBCD's big sanctuary fire on December 24, 1976, he shared an oxygen tank with fire fighters as he escorted them down into the basement to shut off water to the sprinklers. He was a longtime member of the Keystone Sunday School class, and was its last surviving member. He assisted Howard Davis with building maintenance in the 1970s, and more recently supplied American chestnut trees for the front lawn. With Martha, he enjoyed working in the clothing room and with the Decatur Emergency Assistance Ministry. With friends Don and Dot Carter, he made several trips to help with renovation of FBCD's cabin at Ridgecrest. He enjoyed many trips with Martha and their church friends in the Young at Heart group to Alaska, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Boston and the northeast, Branson, Missouri and many annual trips to North Georgia for apples in the fall. He also enjoyed church mission trips to New Orleans and Cocoa Beach in Florida. Blessed first by growing up in his own family of believers (his great-great-grandfather was a traveling preacher on horseback), then his church family at First Baptist, and finally surrounded in his Decatur neighborhood by many loving believers, he actively participated in and helped to carry on the mission of faith in our Savior Jesus Christ, for which his sons are very thankful for.

Maurice also worked for Peachtree Dekalb Airport, then Chandler Machinery on Laredo Drive, and later moved on to his last official job as business manager at Littrell Ace Hardware, an Atlanta institution, on Glen Iris Drive. Never one to stay idle, though, after retirement he enjoyed driving a delivery truck for Combined Services in Decatur delivering parts, water, Gatorade, and paychecks.

Maurice was an honorary member of the Medlock Moms and Belk lunch groups, and was a longtime supporter of the American Chestnut Foundation. He shared a love of bluegrass music with family - listening to records oftentimes with his brother-in-law Preston and nephew Richard, and attending shows throughout the years whenever possible. His favorite birding places - thanks to Mark, Selena, and Martha, were his backyard, Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve, Newman Wetlands Center and E.L. Huie Ponds, Kennesaw Mountain, and the State Botanical Gardens in Athens.

His family finds comfort in knowing that he is now healed and at peace in the presence of his Savior, and reunited with Martha and his many beloved family and friends who are already at home.

We are grateful for the outpouring of love for Maurice by dear friends and family in the form of phone calls, beautiful cards and prayers both known and unknown, the care of many extremely talented doctors, nurses, and medical staff, the personal and home care from Mary Woods for nearly four years, and God's hand who has guided each and every person in helping take care of Maurice and his family.