Mrs. Wynell "Winnie" Watson Yarbrough

Mrs. Wynell 'Winnie' Watson Yarbrough, 96, of Atlanta and formerly of Thomaston, died Wednesday, October 3, 2018. Mrs. Yarbrough was born on July 9th, 1922 in Worth County, a daughter of the late Grady and Buenola Gill Watson. She is survived by her three children, Jan (Ray) Turner, Dusty (Faye) Yarbrough & Alben Yarbrough; 6 grandchildren, 8 great grandchildren & many nieces & nephews, all of whom she remained very close to for her entire life. A sister, Dixie English Huguley also survive. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her husband, Paul W. Yarbrough, and a sister, Lila Mae Mayhue. Mrs. Yarbrough attended R. E. Lee High School, and married Paul W. Yarbrough in 1938. She Retired from the Quality Control dept. of the William Carter Co. in Thomaston in the mid 1970's. In their early marriage they enjoyed bowling & fellowship with their circle of friends. Their first child (Jan)was born in Alabama in 1943, where her husband worked on the war effort in an ammunition's plant. Dusty was born in Thomaston in 1946 & Alben in Chattanooga in 1950. As a young wife and mother in Chattanooga, TN, she was devoted to her family. She and her husband were involved with the Lions Club and their support of The School for the Blind. After moving back to Thomaston and becoming a working mother, she and Paul continued to participate in community activities and worship at the First Methodist Church of Thomaston. Both parents always managed to be involved with their children's many school and sports activities. After becoming a widow in 1974 and later retiring, her focus was all about her family. One of her greatest joys was being a grandmother - 'Nannie' became her favorite name. Their first grandchild born into the family was in 1965, her last born in 2002 when she was 81. Through the years, 8 great grandchildren continued to fill her life. After retirement, she moved to Savannah for a couple of years, where her sons and family were building a restaurant business. When her mother took ill around 1980, she became a big part of her daughter's family when she moved to Atlanta with them. This facilitated easy travel back and forth to help her sisters look after their parents. Atlanta was home base for a number of years. Eventually she moved to Lake Jackson where her parents had lived after their retirement. Her father passed in 1994 in Thomaston...2 months before turning 100. She spent many happy years enjoying family and friends visiting her at the lake. She and her sister, Dixie, loved spending time together and remained extremely close all of her life. She enjoyed her potted plants, reading, lunching with friends and loved sending her visitors home with aloe plants she had cultivated. She enjoyed cooking....her cornbread and dressing were famous. She made fabulous biscuits, potato salad, chili, lemon meringue pie and sister Dixie's famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Due to some health issues at age 91, she moved back to Atlanta with her daughter and husband, but she always enjoyed going back to spend family time at the lake and visiting her sons' families on the coast of Georgia. Her whole life she remained devoted to her family and was an awesome grandmother....proud that one of her grandsons was given the name Wynn in her honor. She was dearly loved by many and lived a long fulfilled life enjoying her role as the matriarch of our family. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church of Thomaston, PO Box 707, Thomaston, GA 30286, or to 'Help Save One of Our Own', 408 Jackson Woods Blvd., Savannah, GA 31405. Condolences and remembrances may be expressed at www.fletcherdayfuneralhome.com. Fletcher-Day Funeral Home of Thomaston is in charge of all arrangements.