Gordon Moody Midgette, 70, past director of the Dekalb Historical Society, leaves a lasting legacy.

Archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian Gordon Moody Midgette passed away from this world at 7:11 p.m., the 29th of April 2014. He was the former director of The Dekalb Historical Society from 1976 to 1978. He was also the Georgia State Archaeologist in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Mr. Midgette, a friend of the Rev. M. L. King, Sr., was an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement. He championed the memory and history of Col. Robert A. Alston, who was an early opponent of the Convict Lease System.

As a graduate student, Gordon Midgette conducted the first and only excavation at Briar Creek, Sardis, Ga. which helped to establish the Clovis Culture in the Southeastern United States. He was a subject matter expert on the history of Atlanta, President Andrew Jackson, President Woodrow Wilson, and Native American Trails in the Southeastern United States. He was also quite a chess player.

He is survived by his wife Carol A. Midgette, his son Major Ben Midgette, his mother Mrs. Evelyn Crandell and his two sisters, Martha Jones and Patricia Scott.

In lieu of flowers, family requests that donations be made to the Dekalb Historical Society, The Greater Atlanta Archaeological Society or The Society for Georgia Archaeology.

A memorial service was held at the Decatur Cemetery at 1 p.m. on Saturday, the 17th of May 2014.

Posted online on Monday, May 5th, 2014