One of Fayette

County's most prominent figures during the past 50 years has died.

Judge A.O.

"Bo" Ingram Sr. died Wednesday, Feb. 20, at Fayette Community

Hospital. He was 81.

His wife, Bess,

passed away Jan. 26. "He wasn't going to leave her for very long,

was he?" said their daughter, Bonnie Epps-Long of Peachtree City.

His impressive

record of public service included a stint as mayor of Fayetteville in

the 1960s and 14 years as a Fayette County Magistrate judge until 1997.

He was also chief of the Fayetteville Volunteer Fire Department and an

EMT coordinator.

Before coming

to Fayetteville, he served as chairman of the Ware County Board of Commissioners

while living and working in Waycross.

A prominent

businessman in the area, he owned and operated Ingram's Red Dot Grocery

Store, Ingram's Washeterias, Ingram's Supermarket, Ingram's TV & Appliance,

Ingram's Florist, and Glynn Wedding Chapel.

One of his

most notable associations was his membership in the Coffee Club, a group

that for more than 40 years has met seven days a week at Melear's Barbeque

in Fayetteville. He and a number of other local citizens would gather

to share in discussions of various topics and local gossip.

"He was

dedicated to his community," said Chief Magistrate Judge Kenneth

Melear, owner of the restaurant. "He was the type of person that

would try to help everybody."

One of Melear's

favorite recollections is how Ingram demonstrated his dedication to the

Coffee Club by riding in one morning on his lawnmower, with headlights

on, after his car wouldn't start.

"He was

determined he was going to be here every morning," said Melear, who

has placed a bow on Ingram's chair at the head of the table where the

club congregates.

Ingram began

serving as magistrate judge in 1983. He set bond for defendants, heard

pleas and presided over misdemeanor criminal cases and small civil cases.

He was also

a justice of the peace, and he enjoyed officiating at weddings. After

he left the bench, he opened the wedding chapel next to the flower shop

and presided over as many as seven weddings in a single Valentine's Day.

His most notable

ceremony was that of Evander and Janice Holyfield, whom he did not even

recognize until he saw the former heavyweight boxing champion's name on

the check after the ceremony. The Holyfields married in late 1996, one

month before Evander defeated Mike Tyson for the title.

Ingram was

buried Saturday. Both his and his wife's services were officiated by their

son-in-law, the Rev. Dr. Rick Long, pastor of Hopewell United Methodist

Church in Tyrone, where they attended the past few years, according to

their daughter. Ingram's service included a flag-draped coffin, signifying

the World War II veteran's military service.

He also is

survived by a son, A.O. and Margaret Ingram Jr. of Conyers; daughter Tommy

and Judy Rivers of Haddam, Conn.; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren,

along with a brother, a sister, an aunt and a number of nieces and nephews.

"We lost

a significant member of the community," said Fayetteville Mayor Kenneth

Steele. "He was a treasure to Fayetteville and Fayette County; a

public servant in many areas, loved and respected by every one he came

in contact with."