Beautiful Southern wood is transformed under the hands of master craftsmen who pay homage to the beauty of life with their work.
Story by Jennifer Kornegay, Photos by Stephen Cook
very piece of timber Jody Gill saws, carves, sands, and stains awakens his wonder afresh. The material’s every aspect fascinates the third-generation wood craftsman.
“I could spend hours telling you how much I love wood, from the look and the feel to the smell,” he says. “Making things out of it is what I’ve always wanted to do.”
Working for 30 years in the residential construction industry, designing and building structures scratched that itch to some degree, but today, his carpentry provides deeper fulfillment. Since 2021, when Jody purchased South GA Casket Co., he’s taken his artistry in a new direction, handcrafting custom final resting places from wood that bring families a bit of comfort after the loss of a loved one.
Larry Lee and his son, Ron, former cabinet makers who became involved in fashioning caskets after Larry started making them for family and friends as a hobby, founded the Blackshear, Georgia-based business. When the Lees retired, Jody bought the company and renamed it.
“But that’s all that changed,” Jody says. “We kept the employees and everything else the same.”
And it remains a family affair. Jody’s wife helps with human resources. His daughter handles social media promotion. His sister helps with acquiring new business. Even his in-laws assist with the caskets’ textile inserts. The work keeps them all busy; demand has grown in the last four years, and Jody says the caskets’ distinct style sets them apart.
“They have a different look. The others in the funeral home showrooms mostly have this shiny finish, but then you look at ours, and they are clearly handcrafted and perfectly imperfect,” he says.
Jody doesn’t feel led to remove wood’s every “flaw.” He leaves interesting whirls and knots. “That makes each casket truly unique,” he says.
He believes the caskets’ rustic character appeals to Southerners’ natures. And the South makes up the company’s primary market. Customers come via funeral homes the company works with in north Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee.
The region is also the main source of South GA Casket Co.’s wood; the species filling Jody’s workshop usually include oak, poplar, Eastern red cedar, pecan, reclaimed heart pine, and reclaimed barn wood.
“We use all the classic Southern woods,” he says. “And we’ve had requests to use exotic woods like black mahogany, and we can do that, too.”
But the most popular material is Southern yellow pine; the variety is Jody’s favorite, too.
“We are in the yellow pine capital of the world, and while it can be difficult to work with, it’s such a beautifully grained wood, it’s so worth it,” he says. “And its smell is my favorite; it just does something to me.”
Offering only completely American-made products also distinguishes South GA Casket Co. “People love that we manufacture everything in our shop except for the metal pieces,” Jody says. This includes the upholstered interiors, which are made for the company by a team of local seamstresses. And every part is assembled at the company. “So, from plain wood to finished product, it all happens in Blackshear.”
