Gloria Dubberly, age 62, is retiring as Tattnall County Probate Judge effective December 31, 2024. She was given a grand farewell reception this past Friday, December 20, and many attended in appreciation for her many years of faithful and dedicated service to her profession.

    Gloria first served as Chief Clerk in the Probate Judge's Office in Tattnall County for ten years before running for office as Probate Judge and was successful in winning that first election, and then was unopposed in all other elections.  Overall, she has 30 years of service in the Probate Judge's office, and the last 20 as Probate Judge.

    At the reception, she was lauded for her attention to detail and thoroughness in all the documents that were processed by her office of Probate Judge.

    "First and foremost, I am a people-person, and I feel the best part of my job has been the ability to help people through a stressful time in their lives, and usually something of which they have not had prior experience. Because of my own losses in life, I feel that I can empathize with those who need our services.  I have learned to be both compassionate and understanding of each situation," said Gloria.

    Gloria is close to her family. Her father is the late Leroy Purcell, who retired as a coach and teacher in the Tattnall County School System.  Her late mother, Mary Purcell, was a devoted homemaker to Gloria and her brother, Glenn.

    "We are still close today. Glenn's wife, Sonya, is like a sister to me, and their children are special, also," said Gloria.

    Glenn is a retired educator, and Sonya is the longtime bookkeeper at The Supply Company in Glennville. Their three children are Brandon, Reed, and Sydney. Brandon is a pharmaceutical rep, who is married to Nicole, a NICU nurse, and the couple live in Augusta with their 15-month-old daughter, Baylor. Reed lives in Glennville and works at Plant Hatch as a mechanical engineer. Sydney lives in the Atlanta area and works for an accounting firm.

    Gloria has one son, Justin, who is deceased, and at the time of his death as a mechanical engineer at Plant Hatch, had just been promoted to Reactor Operator, a goal he had pursued.

    Gloria is married to Danny Dubberly, age 67, and an attorney with the family firm of Dubberly Law Firm, LLC, in Glennville, where he practices law with his father, Dan Dubberly, who is 93. His mother, Betty Dubberly, is 91.

    Danny has a sister, Kim Rowden, who is an assistant District Attorney in the Juvenile Division, with her office in Hinesville.  Her three children are Whitney, who lives in Tennessee with her husband and two children; Jay, who is a JAG officer; and Claire, who lives in Richmond Hill and teaches at the Bryan County Middle School. Danny's brother, Lee, is the farm manager for the Dubberly property.

    Danny's children include Bruce Dubberly and Casey Dubberly Giddens. Bruce is an attorney in a law firm in Macon, and his wife, Ali, is a Physician's Assistant in cardiology. Casey and her husband, Eric, live in Suwanee, Georgia, with their three active children: Ava is in the tenth grade, and she attends North Gwinnett High School and is in the Color Guard; Quinn, a seventh grader, is a student at North Gwinnett Middle and plays softball; and Grant is a fifth grader at Level Creek School, who plays baseball and is a Boy Scout.

    "I have really enjoyed my career as a Probate Judge, and I think my own challenging happenings in life have helped me to be a more understanding person. Within a 24-month period, my son, Justin, died; my daddy fell ill and died; husband Danny had an accident that placed him in the hospital for five months; and then my mother died. These experiences in life coming so close together led me into becoming a more compassionate person. In my office, a lot of family issues arise when the parents die, and the separation of property can often become contentious.  I make every effort to mediate the situation among the family members before it resorts going to court," said Gloria.

    Many years ago, Danny had fallen out of a tree stand and pinched a nerve in his neck, which caused a plate to be installed in his neck. He was fully recovered from that injury, but it probably was related to the severity of his accident in the fall of 2019 while at a Georgia Southern football game.  He spent almost the next five months at the Shepherd's Center in Atlanta while Gloria worked remotely most of this time.  She and Danny are grateful for the technology and the wonderful doctors and other medical professionals who treated him during this time.

    The two love to travel and usually by recreational vehicle. They began with a bumper pull in 2017, and then upgraded in 2018 to a fifth wheel so that they could travel cross-country.  Their first long trip of two weeks was to Wyoming to Yellowstone and then to South Dakota, followed by a visit to Kentucky to tour The Ark. The next trek was to Key west, Florida, in 2019, and then Danny's accident delayed any more trips for almost a year.

    Other trips have been to the Gatlinburg, Tennessee, in 2021.  They visited the Amish country in 2022, which included a visit to Grand Island, New York, where they stayed at a new campground and were able to visit Niagara Falls. They then continued on to Boston, Cape Cod, and Plymouth; in 2023 to The Keys; and then in 2024 to the Grand Canyon.

    "Danny was determined to return to traveling in the RV after his accident,  and he continues to exercise faithfully at Anytime Fitness Gym to maintain and increase the strength in his legs.  He also carefully plans all our trips, researches the routes, state parks, and other sites where we will stay during our trip.  We take tours wherever we go, and have met a lot of wonderful people on our travels," said Gloria, with more trips planned after her retirement.

    However, Gloria does not want to fully slide into the retirement mode, and she plans to spend two or three days a week at the Dubberly law office.  Her plans are to be appointed as Senior Judge Status for Probate Courts. This will allow her to assist other Probate Judges as needed. She has already received her training and certification for this position and will continue any training required.

    Gloria is a member of First Baptist Church of Glennville and is very committed to Dayspring Walk to Emmaus where she has served on the Board of Directors.

    She likes to garden but especially likes crafting of all kinds.  Gloria is quite adept at designing and making jewelry. She has assisted several Junior Beta Club members at South Tattnall Middle School in jewelry making competitions, with these students placing on the state level.  She likes to paint oyster shells, and many of her creations are stunning, and painting on canvas has been another endeavor.

    When it comes to cooking, Gloria loves to prepare casseroles, which she feels are under appreciated.  Her Rice Pie was made by her mother, and she and Glenn claim this as their favorite pie. The BBQ Slaw is another that is her specialty as well as the Hash Brown Casserole.

    Gloria is looking forward to semi-retirement but staying busy most of the time. Danny looks forward to more RV traveling with Gloria, too.  For Gloria, her cup is always over half full and usually brimming at the top.

Gloria Dubberly’s Recipes

HASHBROWN CASSEROLE

• 1 (32-oz.) bag frozen hashbrown potatoes
• 1 (8-oz.) carton sour cream
• 1 can Cream of Chicken soup
• 1 med. onion, chopped
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 stick butter (for top of casserole)
• 10 to 12 oz. grated cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups Cornflakes, crushed

RICE PIE

• 2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 cups cooked rice
• pinch or 1/4 tsp salt

BARBEQUE SLAW

• cabbage, shredded
• ketchup
• sugar
• vinegar

Mix together the ketchup, sugar, and vinegar and cook until dissolved.  Pour over cabbage.