HANCOCK COUNTY, Ga. — People all over Georgia are mourning the death of Judge Edith Ingram, the first black woman judge in the United States.
Ingram died Friday, according to her obituary. She was 78-years-old and devoted her life to the state of Georgia and Sparta in Hancock County -- where she was born.
Six years after graduating from Fort Valley State College in 1963, Ingram became the first black female judge in the United States.
Ingram was elected to serve on the Hancock County Court of the Ordinary in 1969 and moved to the county's probate court in 1973.
Ingram was a teacher, advocate and probate judge in Hancock County for over 30 years.
In a tweet, Governor Bryan Kemp called Ingram a "trailblazer."
Hancock County Coroner and lifetime resident of Sparta, Adrick Ingram, said she died of natural causes.
He also says he knew Ingram and her "huge" personality is something people will not forget.
"Her presence will be missed in our community," Adrick Ingram said.
According to The History Makers, Ingram's list of accomplishments is long and she made her impression on the state of Georgia.
Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter appointed her to the State democratic Committee and Governor Joe Frank Harris named her to his staff in 1983.
She served in the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., on the board of the Ebony International Learning Academy and Preparatory School, the Hancock County NAACP and the Democratic Club.
Ingram also served as the president of the Georgia Coalition of Black Women and as a member of the National College of Probate Judges, according to The History Makers.
She is profiled in the book 'Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events.'
Funeral arrangements have not yet been finalized, but Adrick Ingram says it will be a private gathering.
Her obituary says services are entrusted to Dawson’s Mortuary.
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