Faye Dyer Graham passed away at her home in Atlanta early Sunday morning, April 8, 2018, surrounded by loved ones, two weeks after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 14 at Spring Hill Chapel at 1020 Spring Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30309.
Annie Faye Dyer was born to Annie Louise and Ray Dyer in Blairsville, Georgia on January 9, 1941. Her family moved to Cornelia after her father returned to the North Georgia mountains from service in Japan in World War II, and then to Commerce when she was 16. She was adored by many friends and known as “A. Faye” in high school. An accomplished student and a pianist for her church, Faye began her college studies at Bessie Tift College before transferring to Emory at Oxford, then later Emory University in Atlanta, where she met her future husband Tom. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. They were married two days after Tom turned 21.
As newlyweds, while Tom finished college and pursued his masters degree in Finance at Emory, Faye worked at Tucker Wayne, an advertising agency in what is now Colony Square, until the birth of the couple’s first child, Vincent. Tom’s career then took them to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where daughter Tamara was born, but the family soon returned to Atlanta to begin putting down roots in what is now Brookhaven, where sons Eric and Geoffrey were born.
Faye loved and nurtured people, homes, and gardens. She devoted herself to her family and designed and maintained lovely homes in Brookhaven, the South Carolina low country, and Midtown Atlanta. In recent years, she loved visiting the Atlanta Botanical Garden in her newly adopted neighborhood. She savored time with many devoted friends, and especially enjoyed the couple’s game group that gathered for fun and fellowship for over 40 years. Faye was a fabulous cook and gracious hostess who welcomed and put her guests at ease for occasions both of celebration and adversity. She was a supportive and loving wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.
Mrs. Graham is survived by her husband of 55 years, Thomas Carroll Graham; their children Vincent Gradford Graham (Charleston); Tamara Anne Graham (Asheville and Atlanta) and her children Graham Nicholas Calabria, Ian Thomas Calabria, and Eliza Faye Calabria; Eric Thomas Graham and his wife Julia Scheinler Graham (Cumming); Geoffrey Dyer Graham, his wife Wendy Minor Graham (Atlanta), and their children Alexander Dyer Graham and Rhea Katharine Graham; and her older brother Sylvan Raymond Dyer (Auburn) and younger sister Shirley Dyer Burns (Commerce).
The family encourages all to spread your love as Faye did, connecting with your family and friends and living an enriched life by taking those extra moments to support and care for one another. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Avenue NE, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
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