Janis Sue Dowdy Reilly passed away on Wednesday May 16, 2018 after a long and courageous battle with COPD. Janis was a devoted and loving wife, mother and grandmother. She was born in Washington D.C. and raised in Chapel Hill Tennessee where she attended Forrest High School. She went on to attend Cumberland University where she was editor-and-chief of The Collegian and was voted campus beauty.
Janis retired from O Charley's Inc. as a risk manager in 2009, after 26 years of hard work. As a devout Catholic, she was a member of St. Ann's for over 30 years. She could always be found seated in the back row every Sunday, where she would pray the rosary before Mass. Janis was an avid book reader and spent a lot of her life traveling with her husband, Bill.
Janis is preceded in death by her best friend and father Jack Dowdy, her mother Nancy Barnes and stepmother Grace Dowdy. She is survived by her husband of 31 years, Bill Reilly, her daughter Lauri (Brett) Gardner, her grandchildren Courtney, Jason and Jessie. She also had a number of extended family members including; Victoria (Donald) Smith, their children Hannah, Hunter and Forrest, Lisa (Corey) Goodgine, their children Nichole and Kayla, and Rick (Kelly) Reilly and their children, Jack, Wes and Sarah. Janis also had a deep love for her close friends at St. Ann's Church.
In lieu of flowers, we are asking all donations be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital or St. Ann's Catholic Church 5101 Charlotte Ave; Nashville, Tn. 37209
A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Ann Catholic Church Tuesday May 29, 2018 at 11 a.m.
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