Service Saturday 1:00 pm St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church

Anthony Devon “Chopper” Abernathy died peacefully in Atlanta, Georgia on July 4, 2019, at the age of 50 after a battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)/ Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Anthony was preceded in death by his father, Mr. Ronald B. Rowe, his brother, Robert Morales, and several special cousins. He is survived by his wife, Donnay Heckstall Abernathy of Atlanta, Georgia; children, Anthony “Tony” (Alexis) Abernathy of Hickory, North Carolina, Amber and Ariel Abernathy of Atlanta, Georgia, and Delynn Clemons of Hickory, North Carolina; grandchildren, Layla and Anthony, Jr. of Hickory, North Carolina; brothers, Gerald (Tora) Sherrill, Chris Rowe of Hickory, North Carolina; special friend, Tiffany Ham of Kentucky; sister, LaToya Rowe of Hickory, North Carolina; special uncles, Bobby Rowe of Hickory, North Carolina, and Kenneth Hull of Charlotte, North Carolina; special aunts, Angela Abbott of Detroit, Michigan, Vanessa Nixon of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Hollis Coates of Washington, DC; nephews, Kourtlon Perkins, Cameron Sherrill, Caiden Rowe, Braxton Rowe, and Christian Rowe of Hickory, North Carolina; nieces, Malasia Sherrill of Hickory, North Carolina, and Reese Heckstall of Nashville, Tennessee; in-laws, Joe and Andrea Heckstall of East Point, Georgia, Shaun Heckstall (Sharon) of Riverdale, Georgia, Andre Heckstall (Adrienne) of Nashville, Tennessee, and Travis Heckstall of East Point, Georgia; sister-in-law, Renee Fuller of San Francisco, California; special cousins, Diane Abernathy, LeVern McDaniel, Darren and Teresa Knox, Doris Craig, Raymond Veal, Brian and Renee Rowe, Antoinio, Brandon and Chris Lawrence of Hickory, North Carolina; and a whole lot more aunts uncles, cousins and friends.

Anthony was born on March 10, 1969, in Hickory, North Carolina. He was a graduate of Devry University with a degree in Business. After moving to Atlanta, Georgia, he began working for EDS where he met the love of his life, Donnay Heckstall Abernathy. The two married on May 2, 1998. After leaving EDS he was employed by Premier where he was a select account manager. While at Premier, Anthony received his real estate license and sold real estate during his spare time. After Premier, Anthony was a Territory Sales Representative with The Kellogg’s Company where he thrived on being the top salesman.

Prior to his death, he was employed with the Nabisco Mondelez Company. Anyone who knew Anthony knew he was an avid lover of football, especially his Dallas Cowboys. That gentle giant spirit with his calm demeanor could yell during a game while quoting every statistic, every play, and every wrong call. He was a member of a fantasy football league where he would most often come out the winner at the end of the season. The one thing Anthony loved more than football was GOD often saying that” God was the main ingredient”.

Over 28 years, the couple welcomed three children into the home, Anthony (Tony), Amber, and Ariel. Anthony often said, “He was his best when all of his children and grandchildren were together”. His children will always remember him as a generous, loving, and patient parent saying, “we better tell daddy before mommy finds out”.

In addition to being a devoted husband, father, grandfather, friend, and hard worker, Anthony would often say we are world changers, everyone is not your friend, we are here to build up not destroy. We can always remember Anthony by his smile and quiet but mighty temperament.