Luther Edward Oliphant died July 7, 2016 in Snellville, Georgia, after a short illness.

He was born Oct. 6, 1932, in Bisbee, Arizona. His family moved to Bainbridge in 1944. He graduated from Bainbridge High School in 1950.

After attending Arizona University, he joined the Air Force where he continued his education at Medical Tech School, Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Montgomery Medical School in Alabama and Tactical Air Command Non-Commissioned Officers Academy, Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. He was stationed in Denver, New York, Texas, Alabama, Alaska, North Carolina and Virginia as well as overseas assignments in Japan, Korea and Vietnam before retiring from the Air Force in 1971 as a master sergeant.

He was laboratory supervisor at Richland Memorial Hospital in South Carolina and St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens before starting his own private laboratories while continuing his education through the University of Georgia. He later sold Athens Regional Medical Laboratory to Biomedical Laboratories and retired in 1996.

Luther married Dolores Wroblewski in 1956, raising her daughter, Maureen, as well as daughters Debra, Gail and Theresa.

He was preceded in death by wife, Dolores and siblings Mildred, Walter and Bob.

He is survived by Maureen, of New York, Debra Altice and her husband Jim of Virginia Beach, Gail Isom and husband Gary in Canton, Georgia, and Theresa Self of Athens; 14 grandchildren; numerous great-grandchildren; sisters Nona Langford of Dallas/Fort Worth, Marjorie Belling of Bainbridge Island, and Alma Belling and her husband Dick of Poulsbo; as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Interment was last month in Snellville by Knights of Columbus.