John David Ivester

John David Ivester, age 80, passed away peacefully on Friday, April 10. 2020 at his residence. John was born in Honea Path, SC on July 28, 1939 and was the son of the late J.D. Ivester and the late Lila Griffin Ivester. He was also preceded in death by two brothers, Philip Kay Ivester (Toni) and Gary Henning Ivester (Karen). Survivors include his wife of 58 years, Nancy Ringer Ivester, and three sons: David Blair Ivester (Audrey) of Sugar Land, TX, Jeffrey Kyle Ivester (Carla) of Rome and Jonathan Kevin Ivester (Jackie) of Rome, eight grandchildren: Morgan, Abby, Maddox, Daniel, Lily and Adrian Ivester, and Hunter and Emily Lucas. Two sisters also survive: Jane Ivester Cooper (Larry) of Katy, TX and Dana Ivester White (Billy) of Cedartown. John attended Rome City Schools and graduated as a Rome High Hilltopper in the Class of 1957, lettering in football and baseball. He attended Clemson University where he played baseball and sang in the Glee Club and with the quartet “The Tiger Tones.” John’s business career began in the men’s apparel business working for Oxford Industries in Belton, SC, Atlanta and Los Angeles, where he served as president of Manchester Shirts. His real estate career in Rome included working with Davis Realty, Tarpley Auction, and Harrington Realty. He joined with Larry Martin in the early 90’s as real estate broker to form Larry Martin Real Estate. John and Larry worked together to develop many restaurants, convenient stores, and office buildings. Larry has said that “Johnny made working fun. People came into our office just to visit with John because he was so entertaining and funny.” John received multiple sales awards during his real estate career and was a former member of the Greater Rome Board of Realtors. The family would like to thank John’s doctors, especially his internist, Dr. Joe Baker and his staff at Harbin Clinic, Floyd Home Care, Prime Care Nursing, Winthrop Rehab and Affinity Hospice for the compassionate care they provided in recent months. In accordance with his wishes, John will be cremated, and a celebration of his life will be held at a later date. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 or online at www.stjude.org/donate