New Holland Baptist Church has on its property a couple of memorials to the late Henry Grady Jarrard, including a Hammond organ dedicated in his memory in October 1973, after his passing.

The church now has a more public reminder of his 37 years of service as pastor − a green sign at busy Jesse Jewell Parkway and Quarry Street in Gainesville declaring the "Rev. H.G. Jarrard Memorial Intersection."

Church leaders unveiled the sign, surrounded by dignitaries, including Gov.-elect Nathan Deal and his wife, Sandra, on Sunday.

"This is a great day to remember our godly heritage," said Maj. Kevin Jarrard after the ceremony.

He serves as commandant of cadets at Riverside Military Academy in Gainesville. The late pastor was his great-great-uncle.

The church held its regular Sunday morning service before the unveiling, with the much of the hour spent remembering the former pastor.

As one of several speakers, Deal, who is set for a Jan. 10 swearing-in at the Capitol in Atlanta, talked about personal ties to the church.

Sandra Deal grew up and was baptized in the church, and the couple was married there on June 12, 1966, by the pastor at the time, Bruce Morgan.

Jarrard "had his life involved in two of the great professions of our world and our society − education and religion," Deal said. "Certainly, you could not pick someone who had both of those so entwined in what he did in his life."

Lucille Carter, a 71-year member at the church, said "Preacher Jarrard," as he was known by church members, had two main goals in life.

He wanted to spread the gospel "to as many people as he could" and ensure that "all children had an opportunity for a good education."

Jarrard also served as Hall County superintendent for 30 years, a stint that included consolidation of Hall schools in the 1950s.

Deal said that "to survive as a school superintendent in an era in which you were elected, for 30 years, and survive in a Baptist church, which is even more political sometimes, for 37 years says a lot about an individual," drawing laughter from the congregation.

He said Jarrard was retired when the two met.

"I do remember him as a big man, a man with a gentle spirit ... and somebody who obviously cared for the people he was associated with," Deal said.

The process to naming the intersection began with a request from Deal's wife and a church member, Broadus Duncan, to the Hall County Board of Commissioners.

And last year, the Georgia General Assembly passed a resolution honoring Jarrard's life and dedicating the intersection in his memory. One of the bill's sponsors, Rep. Carl Rogers, R-Gainesville, was at Sunday's service and unveiling.

"The people of the New Holland community can testify to the interest that Preacher Jarrard had in the development of the young people of the community and how he gave sacrificially of his time and means to that end," the resolution states.

"It is only fitting and proper that a lasting memorial to his life of service be established."
Sandra Deal said after Sunday's unveiling that she was "very happy that we were able to get this done."

Her memories are still clear of the pastor.

"I'll just remember (him) as being like a ray of sunshine − a big smile every time you saw him," she said.