John Yancey Abbott

John Yancey Abbott, good and faithful servant of our Lord. And the Lord proclaimed, “my loving servant John has been through enough on this earth. His heart and body are tired.” And so it was that on January 28, 2015, the angels were sent to carry him home. He went quietly, like always, without a fuss

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John was born January 2, 1947 in Atlanta to Sarah Kendall Abbott and Dr. Osler Almon Abbott. As a young boy, he always loved sports. He attended the Fritz Orr Camp and was the only one to receive the prestigious Buddy Fowlkes Award for Outstanding Athletic Achievement. He later attended the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he continued to excel in football, and was bestowed the award of “Neat Cadet of the Year.” He graduated in 1965 from The Lovett School. John served in the U.S. Army from 1967-1969 as a special nuclear weapons forward assemblyman in Germany during the Vietnam War. He was recognized as The Honor Graduate of the ADM Nuclear Weapons Assembly Course in all of Europe. After the service, John graduated from Oglethorpe University with a degree in history and later went back to Georgia State University to earn a degree in accounting.

In 1973 he met the love of his life, the former Mary Helen Akers, playing tennis with friends on The Lovett School tennis courts. They married that October and were later blessed with two beautiful girls. Mary Helen and John made a great team and did most everything together. He often said his real job was “trying to keep up with her.”

He worked for United States Postal Service and retired after 25 years of service. Once retired, he joined his wife, Mary Helen, as an agent at Harry Norman Realtors. John was a member of First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, the Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, and The Colonial Warriors.

John was a wonderful father and husband. He was a man of strong character and a man who loved the Lord. He enjoyed snow skiing, plays in New York City, smooth jazz, fishing, traveling the world with Mary Helen, spending time with his daughters, and loving his grandsons. His favorite place was at his mountain home on the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia where he fished and relaxed. Some of his favorite memories were the father-daughter trips he took with each of his girls when they turned 16 years old to New York City. He had a ball each time and fell in love with The Phantom of the Opera, which he eventually saw five times. More recently, he was moved to tears when his first daughter and son-in-law shared they wanted to name their first born son after him.

He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Mary Helen Akers Abbott, and his daughters, Helen Jonas (Gabe) of Tampa, Florida and Caroline Davis (Chris) of Brookshire, Texas; grandsons, Landon John Jonas and Dylan Louis Jonas; his brothers, William Osler A. Abbott (Beverly) of Madison, Georgia and Edward K. Abbott (Debbie) of Jacksonville, Florida and several nieces and nephews.

A family graveside service is planned for Monday, February 2nd, followed by a memorial service at 2 o'clock at The First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, followed by a Celebration of Life reception immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to The First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, The Lovett School, The Baylor School in Chattanooga, or the Atlanta Humane Society.