Paulina “Polly” Dillon Scrantom, age 83, of Columbus, died Sunday, January 4, 2015 at St. Francis Hospital, surrounded by her loving family. A memorial service will be held 11:00 A.M. Thursday, January 8, 2015, at Trinity Episcopal Church in Columbus, with a reception to follow in the church fellowship hall.
Polly was born September 21, 1931 in Thomasville, Georgia, the daughter of Fred Earl and Jewel Dollar Dillon. After moving to Jacksonville, she attended the University of Florida, where she was a member of Sigma Kappa sorority and voted a “Jewel of the Campus.” This must have provoked her husband, William G. (Bill), Scrantom, Jr., to action after a long courtship beginning when they were back-door neighbors in high school. Bill and Polly celebrated their sixtieth wedding anniversary in September, 2014.
Polly was an artist, musician and poet, a lover of literature, classical music and cooking. She was a member of the artistic group known as Studio Ten for many years, and her paintings hang in churches, businesses and homes around the state. She played a number of musical instruments and had the singing voice of an angel.
Bill and their three children, Billy, Tim and Liz, credit Polly with instilling in them a love for the arts and the softer things in life. At Polly’s core was a deep and abundant Christian faith and spirituality, which flowed through her art and into the lives of all those she touched with her abundant and selfless generosity.
Polly and Bill joined Trinity Episcopal Church in 1956, when they moved to Columbus after Bill finished law school and a stint at Fort Benning. Polly was a devoted and active member of the Trinity Church community for almost sixty years. She sang in the choir, was a member of the Wednesday Prayer Group, a member of the Lucy Shepherd Guild, the Daughters of the King, and a team leader in the Sunday Morning Prayer Breakfast program. She was a leader in church’s healing ministry, where her loving, buoyant and spiritual nature helped many in distress or despair. Her capacity to love and care for others, her grace, and her boundless compassion were well-known by all members of the Trinity congregation and much of her community.
Polly was also a romantic. She lived abundantly and fully through music, literature, poetry and travel. As happy as Polly was at home raising her children and supporting her husband, she loved travel and adventure and taught her children the thrill of new places and experiences. She and her family traveled to many parts of the world on many occasions, and she was always game for something new. Still she balanced home with her undying sense of adventure, never forgetting her roots, her community or her vast circle of friends from all walks of life and many places.
Polly leaves behind her adoring Bill, their sons Billy (and his wife, Christine, of Murphy, North Carolina) and Tim (and his wife, Leigh, of Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina), and their daughter, Liz (of Hillsborough, North Carolina); a sister, Martha Tate of Peachtree City, Georgia; six grandchildren, Katie, Maggie, Gamble, Jack, Isabelle, and Sam; four nieces (Melanie, Stephanie, Dee Dee and Polly) and numerous grand nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Trinity Episcopal Church, Chattahoochee Valley Episcopal Ministry, House of Mercy, Habitat for Humanity, or a favorite charity in memory of Polly. Condolences may be expressed at www.shcolumbus.com.
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