Obituary of Jo Ann Bartlett Lanier

Funeral services for JoAnn Bartlett Lanier, age 78, of Wedowee, will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2015, at 2:00 PM at First United Methodist Church of Wedowee with Rev. Josh Hickman and Rev. Robert Mount officiating. Burial will follow at Wedowee City Cemetery with Benefield Funeral Home in charge of arrangements. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5:00-8:00 PM on Monday, October 5, 2015. Mrs. Lanier will lie in state one hour prior to services beginning on Tuesday. Mrs. Lanier passed away on Friday, October 2, 2015, at her home. Survivors include her husband, Sidney Lanier of Wedowee; three daughters, Mary Ann Lanier of Boston, MA, Jo Elizabeth Lanier of LaGrange, GA, and Laura Lea Alonso (husband, Larry) of Elijay, GA; six grandchildren; and one sister, Judy Bartlett Cofield of Knoxville, TN. Pallbearers will be Eddie Deering, Carl Battles, Sanford Chambers, James Kendrick, Bernie McKeone, and John Tal Murphree. A Randolph County native, Mrs. Lanier was born on February 23, 1937, the daughter of Walter J. and Cordelle Traylor Bartlett. She was a member of Wedowee Kiwanis Club, Wedowee Garden Club, Women’s Study Club, Wedowee Music Club, East Alabama Arts Society, and the United Methodist Women. She graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree. She also received a master’s degree from Vanderbilt’s George Peabody College for Teachers. She was preceded in death by her parents. Memorials may be floral or the family requests donations to the First United Methodist Church of Wedowee Building Fund.