‘Vivacious’ wife in power couple killed by gunshot

Atlanta police are investigating the death of a prominent woman with Putnam County ties who was fatally shot inside a car this week.

Diane McIver, 63, died in surgery at Emory Hospital about 1:20 a.m. Monday.

McIver and her attorney husband, Claud L. “Tex” McIver III, divided their time between a home in Buckhead and their farm near Eatonton.

“They have done a great deal for Putnam County,” Sheriff Howard Sills said of his friends Wednesday.

When a “Blue Lives Matter” billboard went up in Putnam County last year, it was thanks to the McIvers and Billy Corey.

Diane McIver was president of Corey Airport Services based in Atlanta, where she had worked for 43 years.

“She was one of those wealthy people that apparently came from humble origins,” Sills said. “She was a vivacious, entertaining, beautiful woman. She will be truly missed. She was one of those people who was always a lot of fun to be around.”

Her husband, a board member of the Putnam Development Authority and the Georgia College Foundation, is a partner in the Atlanta office of Fisher & Phillips.

Inquiries to Atlanta police media relations about the circumstances of her death were not answered Wednesday.

This story was originally published September 28, 2016 at 1:09 PM with the headline "‘Vivacious’ wife in power couple killed by gunshot."