Joanne Turner

Joanne Marie Pattillo (Turner) was born on July 19, 1936 in Atlanta, Georgia. She was one of two girls in the Pattillo family which had 9 children. She was the second to youngest child. She was born in a house on 10th street in downtown Atlanta and the family shortly moved to Hapeville, Georgia. Joanne met Neil Turner in the Hapeville First Baptist Church nursery as toddlers. The pair grew up together in elementary, junior, and high school and then attended different colleges. Neil Turner went to Georgia Tech while Joanne Pattillo elected to enroll at Truett McConnell, a Christian college in North Georgia. Joanne enjoyed being a cheerleader in college.

After graduating from college, Richard proposed to the love of his life Joanne, and the two were married on June 7, 1958. They were happily married for 60 years until Neil passed away in 2018. They had three children, Richard, Robert, and Deeann. Since Neil traveled for work, Neil and Joanne lived in several states in their early marriage including New York and Alabama. They eventually settled in a small, country town outside of Atlanta called Rex, Georgia where they purchased a house on Stagecoach Road. It was here where the young family grew, and the house became a home for the Turners for more than 30 years (living in Rex for more than 50 years). They loved Rex and everything it could offer a family: space to roam, clean air to breath, trees for their kids to climb, endless adventures to be had outside that would define their childhood. Joanne loved taking her kids to church at Pinecrest Baptist Church in Morrow, Georgia. Joanne enjoyed being a stay-at-home mom and took lots of pride in her children and home. She joined East Clayton Elementary in the 1970s as a teacher and librarian where she loved working with kids.

In the early 1980s, her first grandchildren were born, Angela and Rick Turner and Meredith Waddell. They lived nearby and Joanne adored being involved with her grandchildren’s lives. She even watched baby Angela for the first years of her life while her parents worked. She was known to her grandkids and kids from then on as Grandma. Joanne and Neil spent most Sunday afternoons after church with their family and Joanne enjoyed cooking and her favorite dishes to cook the family were pot roast, spaghetti, and barbeque chicken. She made the best green beans and mashed potatoes. During this time, Neil and Joanne purchased a lakefront cabin and speed boat on Lake Nottely in Blairsville, Georgia. Many fun memories were made, and holidays celebrated at the Turner lake home. Angela and Meredith remember drinking “coffee” that Grandma served them at the cabin and loved hearing Grandma’s infectious laugh carry through the home.

In the late eighties, a 4th grandchild, Katie Harter was born and shortly after Lexi, Caleb, Micah and Noah Turner came along. The Turners had 8 grandchildren in total which they doted upon. Joanne’s legacy was her family and she also had many great-grand-children – Emma and Chance Wang, Grady, Hananiah, and Judah Turner, Layna, Everly, and Mari Desin, as well as Maddy and Parker Seagle.

One of Joanne’s favorite places was the Gulf Coast of Florida. When their children were young, they took them to Panama City Beach for vacation. In later years, Neil and Joanne accompanied the extended family every year for a decade to Seagrove Beach where everyone would stay together in the same beachfront complex. Many memories were made together as the kids entertained their grandparents and had special meals together. More than anything, they enjoyed being together as a family.

Joanne spent her retirement years serving as the caretaker for Neil as he became handicapped in his fifties from a stroke. She never uttered a word of complaint and truly carried the joy of the Lord as her strength. She was a deeply religious woman, trusting in God, and showering her kids and grandkids with love and affection. Joanne prioritized God and attending church which became rooted in the lives of her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. When Joanne’s disease of Alzheimer’s prevented her from speaking in recent years, she still enjoyed singing old church hymns and even when words were no longer present, the songs stayed in her heart and mind. Her legacy will live on in the lives of her family who is saddened by their loss but overjoyed that she no longer suffers and has been reunited with her husband, older sister, and loved ones.

“When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we’ll sing and shout the victory.”

“To the old rugged cross, I’ll ever be true. It’s shame and reproach, I’ll gladly bear. Then he’ll call me someday to my home far away. Where his glory forever I’ll share.”

Joanne Marie Turner 1936-2021