Joann Smith Tyler

Jo Ann Smith Tyler, 81, died peacefully in her sleep on Monday, March 5, 2018 at Winnwood Retirement Community in Marietta, GA several months after being diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis. She was married to William Briggs Tyler, III for 55 years until his death in April 2013. Mrs. Tyler was born in Hahira, GA on July 23, 1936 and was the daughter of the late Grace Simpson Bridgman and the late Walter Joe Smith and the granddaughter of the late James M and Mattie Lou Simpson of Valdosta. Mrs. Tyler lived in Valdosta until 1968 and moved with her husband and 3 daughters to Augusta, GA where they lived for thirty-five years until her retirement from SunTrust Bank. Mr. and Mrs. Tyler returned to the Valdosta area in August of 2003 and became members of the First Baptist Church in Valdosta. Mrs. Tyler moved to Marietta in 2013.
After graduating from Hahira High School, Jo Ann attended the University of Georgia. She was Miss Hahira and first runner-up in the Miss Valdosta pageant and sang on a radio show in Warner Robins before working at Moody Air Force Base. She began her banking career in Valdosta and continued on in Augusta where she was a well-respected Trust Officer and Sr. Vice President with C&S Bank, which became Bank of America, and finally with SunTrust Bank. In addition to being a member of the Kiwanis Club of Augusta, she was also an active part of the First Baptist Church in Augusta where she was a Youth Sunday School teacher and a member of the Sanctuary Choir, as well as a beloved soloist for many years.
She is survived by her three daughters and one son-in-law, Beverly and Mitch Denning of Jacksonville, FL, Joni Tyler Colson of Marietta, GA, and Cindy Tyler of Tallahassee, FL; eight grandchildren, Ann Marie Denning Carrothers and her husband Brent, Tyler Denning, Elizabeth Denning, Ben Colson and his wife Lauren, Brooke Colson Roberts and her husband Jonathan, Nick Ellison and his fiancé Katie Verdi, Briggs Ellison, and Matthew Ellison; two great granddaughters, Haley Grace Colson and Charlotte Ann Carrothers; brother-in-law and sister-in-law Jerry W. and Maryann Tyler of Roswell, GA, and sisters-in-law Jerilyn Tyler of Buford, GA and Beth Pitcher of Nokomis, FL.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00AM, Friday, March 9, 2018 in the chapel of Carson McLane Funeral Home in Valdosta, GA with Rev. Jerry W. Tyler officiating. Burial will follow in the Friendship Cemetery in Hahira. The family will receive friends on Thursday, March 8, from 6-8PM at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to any charity you feel will make the world a better place, which is one thing that was always very important to Mrs. Tyler. Condolences to the family may be made online at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane Funeral Home.