It would have been hard to find someone in Loganville who didn’t know Kate Needham during her 21 years as city clerk.
Throughout her time with the city government, she’d had her hand in everything from dispatching police to mailing water bills, with a dedication that extended far beyond just city hall.
“She was just about the most loved person in Loganville,” said the city’s former mayor, Junior Hall. “People would come in more to see Kate than they would to pay their bills.”
But her involvement in her community began long before she became city clerk. She had taught Sunday school and Bible study classes at Loganville Methodist Church for many years after joining the church in 1961. She had also been an active member of the American Legion Auxiliary for several years.
Needham’s move to city government came in the early 1970s. She was at that time working at a local grocery where the then mayor, knowing how involved Needham was in the community, would often come into the store and ask her to be the city clerk. And eventually she agreed, said her daughter, Rhonda Wilson of Loganville.
“The city became her life,” she said. “They depended on her to basically run the city, and everybody saw her as a mother figure.”
Kate Yancey Needham, of Loganville, died Saturday from complications of Alzheimer’s disease at Abbey Hospice in Social Circle. She was 85.
Her memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at the Loganville Chapel of Tim Stewart Funeral Home, which was in charge of the cremation arrangements.
Needham served under five mayors during her 21 years of service to her city, from which she retired in the early 1990s. Throughout her long career, she handled issues such traffic tickets, recorded minutes at council meetings and served on the city’s planning and zoning committee, Wilson said.
As a result of her passion to help the elderly and the needy, she also helped to establish the Loganville Senior Center, as well as helping to start the community’s Meals on Wheels program.
She was often featured in newspapers for her hard work and commitment, which were also two of the reasons she was so good at her job, Hall said.
“She was very dedicated,” he said. “I think she was just meant to be a city clerk, because she was undoubtedly the best.”
Seen by many as a Loganville mother figure, Needham was well-known and loved throughout the entire community. And more often than not, she is credited with “helping lay the foundation of Loganville,” Hall said.
“I think of her as a fixture for Loganville,” he said. “To replace Kate today with the kind of tools she had would be absolutely impossible.”
In addition to Wilson, Needham is survived by another daughter, Dianne Chambless of Woodbury; one son, Joe Neal Needham Jr. of Loganville; and eight grandchildren.
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