By Danny Lancaster, son

Earl Willard Sineath,  aka "Red" or "PawPaw" as he was known by his grandchildren and great- grandchildren, passed away on Tuesday, May 10, at the Effingham Extended Care Facility at the age of 93.
Born in Charleston, S.C., he lived his adult life in Savannah, GA.   He joined the U.S. Navy with his childhood friends George and Jimmy, three months after WWII ended spending time on two different aircraft carriers traveling the world doing post war duties.  When he got out of the Navy, he began working for Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, spending his days on the tracks traveling all over the south.  He saw Seaboard merge with Coast Line Railroad which eventually became CSX Railroad. Willard spent many of his railroad years working at the CSX Rail Welding Plant in Savannah. He got up every morning to go to work at 4 a.m., and worked well past dark on many occasions. His work ethic and drive was incredible, even into his 80s.

In 1976, he married Maxie Lancaster and stepped into a ready-made family with four children, the youngest just five-years- old.  He was loved greatly by his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren and he loved them back just as much.

He never hesitated to lend a hand to someone in need. He did so many Do-It-Yourself projects that it was hard to keep up with them. He was a deacon in church, sang in the choir, and helped the elderly and sick in the congregation whenever needed. In 2010, when his wife had a stroke and had to go into a nursing home, he visited her daily before she passed. He took the staff cuttings from his rose bushes and they still refer to those plants as their "Maxie" roses.  In fact, if you were a family member or close friend, you also got cuttings or seedlings of every plant he had. That man could grow anything.

If you ever met him, you liked him. He had quick wit and a very quirky sense of humor. He was devout in his faith and opinions. In his younger years, he was a regular contributor to the "Letters to the Editor" section of the Savannah Morning News.  If you were near Victory Dr. and Skidaway Rd. in Savannah prior to 2010, you undoubtedly saw him riding his bicycle on the hunt for discarded material to recycle or to use on his DIY projects. If you ever cut behind the shopping center on 43rd street in the 70's - 2000's you inevitably saw his truck parked on the road with the wooded sign on the tailgate that read "Beware Behave Be Ready". That sign was how he lived his life.

He was a special man who touched many lives and he will be missed dearly by his family and friends.  But he leaves behind a legacy of love and kindness, as well as a life well lived.

He will be missed by his sisters, Patty Sineath Johnson and Lynda Sineath Peavy; also children and spouses, Judy Lancaster Huling (Paul), Nancy Lancaster Gould (Richard), Pam Lancaster Morris (Lynn), and Daniel Webster Lancaster, Jr. (Judy).  Grandchildren include Matthew Huling, Rachel Gould, Nathan Gould, Stephanie Kirchner, Joshua Morris, Jarrod Morris, Megan Cook, Madison Lancaster, Kristen Ellison and Heather Croft.  Willard had 11 great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

The visitation will be from 6 until 8 p.m. on Thursday, May 12, 2022 at the funeral home.

The funeral to honor Willard's life will be at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 13, 2022 in the chapel of the funeral home with burial to follow at Forest Lawn Memory Gardens.

Thomas C. Strickland & Sons Funeral Homes - WEST CHATHAM CHAPEL - 901 West Highway 80 - Pooler, Georgia (912) 748-2444