There wasn’t much about Cobb County that Harry Ingram didn’t know.
He served on the Smyrna City Council and Cobb County Commission. He headed up the county water department and supervised revenue collections over 30 years of public service. Moreover, he was instrumental in creating the infrastructure that made the county’s booming growth possible.
“He has served this county in so many meaningful ways, it is hard to describe it all,” said G. Conley Ingram, a senior Cobb County Superior Court judge (no relation). “He was a great leader and a person who knew how to get things done that would improve the lives of everyone in Cobb County.”
The judge called Ingram, “one of the architects of modern Cobb County,” adding “all of us who live in Cobb today are reaping the benefits of his vision, foresight and hard work.”
Ingram died Feb. 8 after a year of declining health. He was 86. A funeral was held Sunday at Greers Chapel Baptist Church, Kennesaw. His body was buried at Greers Chapel Cemetery. Winkenhofer Pine Ridge Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Ingram was born and reared in Cobb. He attended school in Acworth and took a few classes of business college after high school. One of his early jobs was as a business accountant for a local company.
“He was really involved in Jaycees in Smyrna,” said his son, Daryl Ingram. “And a group of guys approached him and told him he was going to run for city council. His response was, ‘I don’t really want to do that.’ But they finally talked him into it.”
That wasn’t the last time Harry Ingram was approached by someone who thought he’d be good for a job. After two terms on the city council, he was encouraged by Ernest Barrett to run for a seat on the five-man county commission that was forming.
“And again he said, ‘I don’t want to do that,’” his son said. “But he did and ended up doing some important work.”
Ingram and Barrett were the visionaries who believed water and sewer lines throughout the county would come in handy one day, said Robert Ingram, another son. He said his father took a fair amount a criticism at the time for borrowing money to do the job.
“But it put in place the infrastructure that was needed for Cobb to have explosive growth in the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Robert Ingram said.
The judge said without the leadership of Ingram and Barrett in the early days, the county would not have been able to flourish like it has.
“We will reap the benefits of their ingenuity as long as there is a Cobb County, I think,” he said. “Our water is good, taxes are low and we have good city services because of a few people like Harry Ingram. I take nothing away from Ernest, but Harry was a great Cobb County person and I’ll miss him dearly.”
In addition to his sons, Ingram is survived by daughter, Gena Ingram and son Marc Fuglio, both of Cobb County; sister, Eve Windham; brothers, Edward Ingram, Joe Ingram, Ralph Ingram and Tommy Ingram; 10 grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.
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