William "Kieth" Pounds, 30, of Dawsonville, died Oct. 15, 2012.
Kieth lived with his mother in the southern part of Lumpkin County.
A bright and precocious child, Kieth was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on his brain stem at an early age.
The tumor and the chemo and radiation treatments it required resulted in a lifetime learning disability and physical incapacity.
He lived his adult life in Dawson and Lumpkin counties, having benefited greatly from the special education classes offered by the public school of those two jurisdictions.
With the encouragement of family and friends, Kieth was active in his community as a youth, participating in Head Start, the Special Olympics, swimming programs at North Georgia College & State University, summer reading programs and raising money for Habitat for Humanity.
He received citizenship awards from the time he was at Lumpkin County Elementary through his senior year at Dawson County High School.
His remarkable reading skills, given his disability and difficulty with phonetics, were attributable to the insight and dedication of his mother, who taught him sight reading using flash cards. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Rev. Jerome Hamm and family members like his late aunt Nancy Forsyth Noblin and his aunt Claire Sharp, helped him go on special outings like Disney World, the Barnum and Bailey Circus and Dollywood.
Kieth especially enjoyed the simple pleasures of life and he gave others a renewed sense of their importance.
He enjoyed time with friends, sitting down with a Tom Clancy novel, watching Dukes of Hazard reruns or a Terminator movie, feeding animals, collecting commemorative pins, eating buffalo wings, discussing coin collecting with longtime family friend Bill Harrell and creating a "bucket list" after watching the movie by the same name.
His mother, who was his constant caregiver and sought to give him a ‘normal' life, gratefully acknowledges the assistance she received in that endeavor over the years from family and friends, including the Dahlonega United Methodist Church, the folks at the Wagon Wheel Restaurant, the staff of the Dahlonega AVEETA program, various therapy groups in Gainesville and more.
Despite recent setbacks, Kieth recently succeeded in scratching a few more items off of his list including a lobster dinner and a trip to Helen in a convertible. Kieth was baptized and confirmed as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Dahlonega Ward on Jan. 25, 2009 and his mother's baptism and confirmation followed shortly thereafter.
His sister, Erica Danielle Helton; grandparents, George and Marie David, William J. and Vivian Pounds; and aunt Debbie Cliatt, also preceded him in death.
Survivors include his mother, Jennifer C. David of Dawsonville; aunts and uncles, David and Jeanne Carpenter of Duluth, Mike Cliatt of Augusta, Dana and Ben LaChance, Claire and Garry Sharp, Melanie David Nelson, Dorian Elise David, all of Dahlonega; cousins, Alison Cliatt, Chapin and Naomi LaChance, Helen and George Cartledge, Taylor and Mason Hulsey and John Brian Macbeth; various other relatives also survive.
Memorial services will be held at 2 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Dahlonega Ward with the Elder Mike Walls officiating.
The family will receive friends from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home and from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday at the church.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kieth's memory to the Division of Neurology, Emory Children's Center, 1760 Clifton Road, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30022-4001.
Bearden Funeral Home of Dawsonville is in charge of the arrangements.