Rhenda C. Spence

Rhenda Cook Spence, 82, passed away Sunday, January 21, 2024, at Hamilton Medical Center.

Rhenda loved cooking, flower arranging, the arts, her church, and her family. She was born in Dalton and grew up here, cheerleading at Dalton High. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in English and Speech at Wesleyan College in Macon. She earned her teacher’s certificate, teaching K-12 at various levels and times over her career.

Rhenda was owner and CEO of her family business, Cook & Ingle, and managed it along with her husband, George. She was a devoted mother. Rhenda did much volunteer work, serving as president and board member of the Creative Arts Guild and a volunteer for its Festival and other events; was appointed by the Governor to a four-year term on the Georgia Council for the Arts; and, served as a board member on the Hamilton Medical Center Foundation. Her greatest love was designing and arranging flowers, and she was one of the organizers of the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Flower Guild. She served thirty-five years as an active Flower Guild member. She attended the Flower Workshop at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. She was a member of the Altar Guild before taking on the Flower Guild.

Rhenda was preceded in death by her parents, Noel James and Beulah Hawkins Cook, and her brother, Mike Cook. She is survived by her husband of sixty years, George Spence, her daughter and son-in-law Laura and Eric Miller of Chattanooga, and her son, George William (Bill) Spence, Jr. of Atlanta.

Services will be at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Wednesday, January 24, 2024, at 2:00 pm with the family receiving visitors from 11:00 am to 1:30 pm prior to the service in the Church Parish Hall.

In lieu of flowers, Rhenda requested that a donation be made to the St. Mark’s Flower Guild (901 West Emery Street, Dalton, GA 30720) or the Creative Arts Guild (520 West Waugh Street, Dalton, GA 30720).