Stone Franklin &8220;Jack&8221; Pickens,69, of Shelby, Ala. And formerly of Temple, Ga. passed away on Friday, April 7, 2006 in Shelby, Ala.

Jack was born on Sept. 15, 1936 in Lithonia, Ga. To the late Robert Henry Pickens and Selma Jane Stone. Jack was a building manager in Atlanta for some fifty plus years and a member of BOMA for over twenty-five years. He was the &8220;one and only&8221; property manager at Lenox Towers for over twenty five years according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle in the Oct. 1987 issue. From the early sixties until the Towers were bought by Laing Properties around 1987, Jack witnessed Lenox Towers, Buckhead&8217;s &8220;first high rise&8221; from its construction to its $4.5 million renovation in 1986. At Laing Properties, Jack was Vice President of property management over numerous office and warehouse facilities in the Atlanta area. He was well-known and respected in his field and after retirement in 1986he continued to consult and offer his knowledge to many of his associate. Since his retirement, Jack spent his time building a stronger relationship with his family and making new friends at Lay Lake where he enjoyed fishing, which was his favorite pastime.

Jack is survived by his wife, Lillian Pickens of Shelby, Ala.; son Ricky Thomas &8220;Tony&8221; Pickens of Duluth, Ga.; daughters Deborah Elizabeth Barnett of Powder Springs, Ga. and Phyllis Annette Slate of Canton, Ga.; son Terry Frank Pickens of Shelby, Ala.; sisters Rachel Mashburn of Conyers, Ga. And Eugene Shaw of Conyers, Ga.; brother Joseph &8220;Morris&8221; Pickens of Conyers, Ga.; eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Funeral services were held on Tuesday, April 11, 2006 at 2 p.m. at Corinth Baptist Church with Reverend Wendell Rush and Pastor Sam Harton officiating with internment to follow at the church cemetery. The body was laid in state at th church with the family receiving friends at the Hightower Funeral Home on Sunday from 5-9 p.m. and Monday from 7-9 p.m