Milledgeville - Mrs. Cloteal Hawthorne Melder "Maw Maw," 94, passed away on Aug. 15, 2025. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025 at 2 p.m. in the Williams Funeral Home Chapel in Milledgeville. Burial will be at Heritage Memorial Park. The family will receive friends on Thursday from 1 p.m. until the service time.

Mrs. Melder was a native of Louisiana and made her home in Milledgeville. She was the daughter of the late Charles Aubrey Hawthorne and the late Ethel Watkins Hawthorne and was preceded in death by her husband, Eddie Eugene Melder "Paw Paw;" and brothers, James Hawthorne and H.L. Hawthorne. She has been a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and a member at Eatonton Presbyterian Church.

As a matriarch, Maw Maw was the rock that held the family together. No matter what event, she was her family's biggest cheerleader. She found joy in every moment spent with those she loved and was there to offer support, encouragement, and comfort whenever it was needed. Her presence was a gift, and her absence will be felt deeply by all who were touched by her kindness and love.

Maw Maw loved her babies and was truly a baby whisperer. Her legacy will live on in the hearts of her family, who carry forward the lessons she taught them: the importance of family, the value of unconditional love, how to dance, the art of cooking shrimp fettuccine, and the strength of a woman who never wavered in her devotion to those she held dear.

She is survived by her children, Michael Melder Sr. (Lynne) of Lamona, Washington; Sheila Rudowske (John) of Gray, Georgia; Mitchell Melder (Vickie) of Milledgeville, Georgia; and Van Melder (Tammie) of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Grandchildren Penny, Heather, Michael, Jr., Ingrid, Michelle, Trent, Bridget, Lindsey, Adrian, Mechelen, Jr., Mendi and Shelby; great frandchildren Mauri, Thomas, Jace, Paislee, Sage, Grant, Jameson, Arden, Knox, Aubrey, Mason, Brody, Priscilla, Evie, Lydia and Trace.

In lieu of gifts, Maw Maw would like you to spend time with your family and your babies.

Express online condolences at www.williamsfuneral.net

Williams Funeral Home and Crematory of Milledgeville in charge of arrangements.