Dr. John Braxton Warnell and
Minnie Lou Franklin Warnell
The CARE Center is located in the Warnell Room at Roddenbery Memorial Library.
The room is named for Dr. John Braxton Warnell (January 22, 1878 to March 12, 1959),
a well known and respected Cairo physician. 
Dr. Warnell practiced medicine in Cairo for nearly a half-century. He was honored
by the Georgia Medical Society after he concluded his active practice. He also
served as mayor of Cairo for five terms. Dr. Warnell was sincerely interested in
the welfare of Cairo and Grady County, and that made him a dedicated worker for the
community in civic activities. His wife, Minnie Lou Franklin Warnell, was loved and
respected as a community leader as well. According to the Cairo Messenger
she was "prominently identified with culture and social activities in the community."
She was a charter member of the Cairo Woman's Club and served a term as president.
In the next generation of Warnells were two brothers, Franklin and Willis, who spent their
childhood in Cairo and left to pursue illustrious careers. These children of Dr. and Mrs.
Warnell made a substantial donation to Roddenbery Memorial Library in the 1980's, to
honor their parents and to start a fund drive to expand the library building. In
recognition of that donation a study room in the expanded library building was named
the Warnell Room. When the idea for the CARE Center began to take shape in 2002, The
Warnell Room was chosen as the location for the Center because of its relative solitude,
its readiness to house numerous book and media resources, and the fact that it bears
the name of a Cairo medical doctor.
 Mary Anne Thomas of Americus, Georgia,
the granddaughter of Dr. and Mrs. Warnell, and her son, John Braxton Thomas, who is
named for his great-grandfather, were the guests of honor at the opening of the CARE
Center in April of 2003. Several of those in attendance at the opening remembered
Dr. Warnell from their childhood.
Mary Anne Thomas held a huge pair of scissors provided by the Cairo-Grady County Chamber of
Commerce and cut the ribbon in the opening ceremony for the Center. The staff of
Roddenbery Memorial Library considers it an appropriate tribute to the Warnell family
that the CARE Center is located in the Warnell Room.
|
