After her five sons were grown, born organizer Bernie Nutt was ready to tackle something new.

As a young homemaker, she'd moved with her family several times to different cities. Each time, she looked for a challenge.

Family photo (ENLARGE)

Bernie Nutt joined Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association.

"Within a few months of arriving somewhere, she'd be president of the PTA," said her son David Nutt of West Dundee, Ill. "She was just a natural leader. So as the kids left, she got more into tennis and just applied her skills there."

Mrs. Nutt moved to the Atlanta area in 1971 and began playing tennis for fun. Before she knew it, she'd become an Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association team coordinator.

She simply couldn't help herself. A former Welcome Wagon volunteer, Mrs. Nutt wanted to jump in and encourage more people to play the game since she loved it so much herself.

"She was always very welcoming and enjoyed bringing people into the fold," her son said.

As an ALTA coordinator and United States Tennis Association level rep, she spent hours organizing matches, keeping up with teams and making sure beginners knew everything they needed to know about the rules of the game.

Bernadean Priebe Nutt, 79, of Cumming died of cancer Monday at Embracing Hospice. The memorial service will be 10 a.m. Friday at McDonald and Son Funeral Home.

Her husband of 59 years, Wendell Nutt, introduced her to tennis in the mid-1970s. The empty-nesters would practice after supper five days a week as she kept getting better and better.

"Until about the last year or so," her son said, "my brothers and I all knew that if we took her on out on the tennis court, she'd probably whoop us."

Tennis became such a dominant part of her life that she and her husband vacationed at tennis camps in Puerto Rico, St. Simons Island, Hilton Head Island, S.C., and other locations.

"They would tell us what we were doing wrong — not that we would stop doing it," her husband said. "But at least then, we had a reason why we couldn't make that shot."

Mrs. Nutt played golf, played bridge and drew on her outgoing nature to build an enormous network of friends.

"She was always upbeat, cheerful, just lots of fun," said her longtime tennis partner, Dee Hedges of Dunwoody. Their ALTA team fought its way up from C level to A-1 level play, with Mrs. Nutt keeping them on track.

"After her Thursday's women's group, Bernie would be on the phone an hour or more checking over what had happened, who won and who lost, who played what position, checking on the rules," her husband said. "And she did the same thing as a level rep for the USTA."

"The worst thing I ever heard her say about a person," her husband said, "was when someone eagerly volunteered with a lot of enthusiasm to do a job for the group and then wouldn't do a thing. Her term for that kind of person was, 'She's a dingbat.'

"Bernie would never do anything like that. She was not a dingbat."

Survivors include four other sons, Steven Nutt of Irvine, Calif., Jerry Nutt of Huntsville, Ala., Brian Nutt of Clifton, Va., and Donald Nutt of Atlanta; and 12 grandchildren.