Athens - John Duncan Odom, III, died at his home in Athens, Ga. on Monday, June 2, 2008. The son of John Duncan Odom Jr. and Anneliese Payne, John was born November 24, 1946. John was raised in various towns in Coastal Georgia and was a graduate of Glynn Academy in Brunswick and later Georgia Southern College. In his early twenties, John left a job in planning and development to pursue a career as an entrepreneur. He owned and operated waterbed stores in Jacksonville where he married and started a family. He moved his family to the mountains of Northeast Georgia in 1984, where he opened a bookstore and later acquired a country store and grocery. After divorcing in 1997, John moved to Athens, a town he had always loved. In his last decade, John was a prolific painter who used vivid colors and bold imagery to share his fantastic inner-visions. In addition to his mother, Anneliese and his brother, Frank Odom, John is survived by his son, Michael, who lives in Athens with his wife Katharine, and his daughter, Dr. Dana Odom Barnes, who resides in Ormond Beach, Fla. with her husband Chuck and John's 1-year-old granddaughter, Carly. John will be remembered as a passionate artist, a thoughtful idealist and a perpetual optimist. A more honest or loyal man would be difficult to find. He was a loving son, brother and father. He will be deeply missed.