A Cobb County judge ordered the longtime manager of Wildman’s Civil War surplus store to hand over an accounting of the late owner’s estate, including an explanation of the sale of some Lockheed Martin Corp. stock that netted nearly $835,000.
Cobb County Superior Court Senior Judge Adele Grubbs ordered the accounting and threatened stronger sanctions against longtime store manager Marjorie Lyon after a hearing in the ongoing fight over the estate of Dent Myers, which includes the infamous Confederate store in downtown Kennesaw.
The fate of the store has been up in the air since Myers died nearly four years ago at age 90. After his death, Lyon, Myers’ longtime friend and employee, had been managing the store after being named co-executor of the owner’s estate along with Myers’ sister, Janice Bagwell.
During the hearing Friday, Grubbs told attorneys to talk and figure out a solution to the fight over estate records. In the end, Grubbs issued an order requiring Lyon to answer every question posed by Bagwell’s attorney by New Year’s Eve, as well as provide documentation to show Lyon did not use any money from the trust for herself.
Grubbs said she plans to review those records herself and then decide whether they should be handed over to Bagwell’s team. She reserved ruling on sanctions and contempt, but warned that failure to fully comply with her order “will result in the imposition of harsh sanctions.”
One of the issues in question involves the sale of more than 1,700 shares of Lockheed stock, which netted a nearly $835,000 profit by April 2023, according to the order.
The judge said Lyon must hand over all records related to that sale and any other stock holdings in the trust, as well as data from her own bank accounts and financial investments.
Grubbs had previously removed Lyon as a trustee and ordered the store temporarily closed after finding the manager took sole control of Myers’ property after his death, changed the locks and denied Bagwell access to the store.
“Marjorie Lyon took 100% of the estate to herself and held out to others, including the City of Kennesaw, that she was the only owner,” Grubbs wrote.
The store, which has been open along Main Street since 1971, sells Confederate flags, Civil War artifacts and Jim Crow-era memorabilia. Many in Kennesaw have called for its closure, including a former councilman who stepped down in protest after the city agreed to renew the business license for Lyon in 2022, just months after Myers’ death.
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