Denmark, Roscoe (1902-1971)

Denmark, Roscoe (1902-1971) – Born in Bulloch County, Georgia, son of Redding and Sarah Agnes Mitchell Denmark, and grandson of James and Susan E. Jones Denmark, and William H. and Hester David Mitchell. He began his business career in Savannah, Georgia, and by 1939 owned and oper­ated and Denmark Oil Company, first in Chatham County, Georgia, and from 1945 until his death, in Liberty and Bryan counties, where he was distributor for the Gulf Oil Company. After relocating in Hinesville, he represented Liberty County in the state senate from 1955 to 1960. It was during this time that he made certain arrangements for Liberty County which resulted in the county acquiring a Hill-Burton hospital, which became Liberty Memorial Hos­pital.

He and Sheriff Paul H. Sikes established radio station WGML in 1958. It was the first radio station in the county. He was a close friend of Georgia governors such as M.E. Thompson and Marvin Griffin, and in 1951 became the only private citizen ever to play host to the entire Georgia Supreme Court outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Denmark served on the State Game and Fish Commission, and was chairman of the board of the First Methodist Church at Midway. He married (1) Katherine Iler, and their children were Katherine Denmark Cobb and Roland R. Denmark, (2) Grace Love, with no children, (3) Sue Gill, with no children, and (4) Elovie Nichols, with no children. Elovie Nichols Denmark married Billy R. Lupo, who is retired from the U.S. Army. When Katherine Denmark married James E. Cobb, one of their wedding gifts was a silver tray on which was engraved the signatures of every member of the Georgia Supreme Court. Roscoe Denmark is buried in Savannah, Georgia.