Joann Marshall Felder

Joann was born November 3, 1931, in Waycross, Georgia, the only child of the late Mary Virginia Browning of Savannah and the late John Carleton Marshall of Waycross.

She attended Isabella Street School in Waycross. When Joann was 8 years old, her mother married the late Robert Harry Suits of Jacksonville, FL, where Joann attended Ruth N. Upson School, John Gorrie School, and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School with the class of 1949.

In 1952, Joann graduated from Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, one of the most prestigious nursing schools in the nation. While at Emory she met the love of her life, the late Dr. Louis H. Felder, MD, who had returned to Emory University to complete his medical training after serving in the United States Air Force in Alaska, during WWII. They were married on September 20, 1952.

Joann and Louie loved to travel and travel the world, they did. Upon returning from a trip to Japan, Joann sketched and built their lake house on Lake Lanier to resemble a Minka, the traditional Japanese style house complete with a sunken dining table, floor cushions and the torii! She took great pleasure in whitewater rafting on the wild and free waters of the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho and the expansive Colorado River. Joann loved to relax among the salt marshes and breathtaking sandy stretches of East Beach on St. Simons Island, where she and Louie enjoyed their lovely retirement home.

Joann was an active member at Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta where she engaged in the design of the Memorial Garden. She was an active member and participant in many Atlanta organizations and clubs, including the Piedmont Women’s Auxiliary, the Member’s Guild of the Atlanta History Center, the Cherokee Town & Country Club, and the Cottage Garden Club of Atlanta. Joann was a devoted and talented gardener, designing the beautiful gardens at her Buckhead home where she loved planning and hosting exquisite parties for the medical community of Atlanta.

Joann had a passion for the hunter-jumper equestrian sport and became active in the Atlanta Pony Club organization. She was a founding member of the Georgia Hunter Jumper Association (GHJA), where she devoted much of her time at the GHJA Wills Park horse shows, alongside her many lifelong horse show friends.

Joann was a loving mother, and a very cherished grandmother who lived life to the fullest. She especially loved spending time with her family, friends, and her beloved dogs, Big Mac, George, Heidi, Zsa-Zsa, Margaret, and Batman.

Joann is preceded in death by her late husband, Dr. Louis H. Felder, MD. She is survived by her four children, Robert Marshall Felder, Richard Emerson Felder, Allyn Felder Timberlake (Jim), Mary Lane Felder; four grandchildren, Louis Dillon Timberlake (Kate), Kathryn Neal Hopkins (Corey), Joanne Marshall Wade (Thomas), Margaret Allyn Timberlake, and four great grandchildren; John Felder Timberlake, Emerson Ruth Timberlake, Charlie Jane Hopkins and Nora Swan Wade.

The family would like to thank our dear friend and invaluable caregiver, Jennifer Wise, of Watkinsville, GA for all her love and consistent companionship as she cared endlessly and compassionately for our mom. Additionally, we extend a very special appreciation to all of the incredibly wonderful and devoted staff at St. Mary’s Highland Hills Village Memory Care who went over and above to show their love, kindness, and affection to “Miss Joann.”

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made to Highland Hills Village, 1660 Jennings Mill Rd., Watkinsville, GA 30677 or Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church Memorial Garden, 3098 St. Anne’s Lane NW, Atlanta, GA 30327.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at Saint Anne’s Episcopal Church. Interment in the Saint Anne’s Memorial Garden will follow the service.

Bernstein Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.