Fuller, a lifetime resident of Gordon County, held several public offices in the county, including 3 terms as mayor for the city of Fairmount from 1984 – 1996.
“This will be a lasting memorial and reminder as everyone passes over this bridge, and they see the reconition of the name, it won’t be only recognizing the man, but it will be the history and the love of country and the love of this community that will also be remembered. And I think that is one of the greatest memorials you can have is to have that recognition assocociating the name of a man of great integrity and character with service,” said Graves.
Over the past year and a half Fuller’s nephew, Billy Lambert, has been working to gain this recognition for his uncle.
“You know you see signs everywhere that are dedicated to people, and I thought what better way to honor my uncle than to dedicate the sign on this bridge,” he said.
Lambert has been collaborating with Grave’s office over the past few months to name the bridge in his uncle’s honor. According to Graves, the process began earlier this year and required a resolution to be passed through both the house and senate in Georgia’s General Assembly.
“As a state representative there’s a lot of activities I have been involved in, but there is none greater than to honor those who have served the community in a great way and to recognize them in front of their friends and family; and in this case, dedicate a bridge,” said Graves.
A long-time servant of the his city, county, and country, Fuller was “a great man…and a great mayor,” said Harry Pierce, current mayor of Fairmount. “This is an honor to the city.”
Fuller and his wife Dorothy owned a cattle farm off of Sam Hunt Road in Gordon County close to where the dedication occurred.
“The creek that runs under this bridge is the same creek that ran through his farm,” said Lambert.
Son of Dolph Sr. and Maude Fuller, Dolph was born in 1920 and passed away of a heart attack in October 2007, days after his 87th birthday.
Fuller had always been interested in politics, recounted his wife Dorothy. “He was a strong Democrat and a strong Ford man. He would never drive anything but a Ford,” she said.
Prior to holding the mayoral office, Fuller served as a city councilman, as well as president of both the Farm Bureau and the Kiwanis Club. After attending military school in Dahlonega and spending two years at the University of Texas, Fuller also served as an air-crewman in the Navy during World War II.
“He was a good Christian man,” said Jerry Lambert, Dorothy’s brother. “He was too honest to be a politician.”
According to Dorothy, Dolph first saw her going into a drug store in Fairmount, and “he just kept calling me. He even had his friends call me to go with him.”
After much persistence she finally agreed, and “every time I swore I wouldn’t go with him again. Five months later, we were married,” she said.
It’s so much more than a sign with a name on it, it is a life that’s being remembered,” said Graves. “It is humbling to recognize those who have given so much.”
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