Faye Meadows, 90, businesswoman, hospital volunteer

Whether it was her warm smile, the big bouquet of roses on her desk or just the help she provided, Faye Meadows brightened the days of many people at North Fulton Regional Hospital.

Mrs. Meadows, of Alpharetta, volunteered at the hospital’s information desk at least two days a week for more than 15 years. She would work on Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas just to make sure someone was there for visitors, said Pat Oxford, chairwoman of ER and Trauma Volunteers at the Roswell hospital.

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Fellow volunteer Bill Rowe gave a big hug to Faye Meadows in this 2003 photo at North Fulton Regional Hospital.

“The hospital was like her domain and she was the hostess,” she said. “Her desk was across from the elevators and you never passed her without spending time with her.”

Mrs. Meadows, 90, died Oct. 14 of pneumonia at Canton Nursing Center. The memorial service will be 11 a.m. Saturday at the Northside Chapel Funeral Home in Roswell, which is in charge of arrangements. The body was donated to the Emory University School of Medicine.

Mrs. Meadows was born in Temple, in west Georgia, and reared in Pell City, Ala. She became a nurse and worked in a local hospital before marrying Ben Meadows, a young forester, on Christmas Day in 1940.

The couple moved to Atlanta in 1956 and started a forestry and engineering supply company called the Ben Meadows Co. Mrs. Meadows filled orders, produced the catalogs and helped with customer relations, said her daughter, Vicky Favorite of Decatur.

Mrs. Meadows was active in the Society of American Foresters Ladies Activities Committee and often did public relations work for the group.

She eventually became chairwoman of Ben Meadows Co., which was named Georgia Family Business of the Year in 1997, an award given out by the business school at Kennesaw State University, said Mrs. Favorite.

The family later sold the company, which now is based in Wisconsin.

In retirement, Mrs. Meadows threw herself into volunteer work, especially at the hospital. She rarely missed a day.

“She lived for that stuff,” said Mrs. Favorite. “She was a good role model for aging well.”

Mrs. Meadows also contributed money or bought things for the hospital when she saw a need, said Ms. Oxford.

“When we were short of wheelchairs, she purchased some to help out transportation,” she said. “When small children came in with parents and they became restless she would take them to the gift shop in the hospital to find a small toy to keep them happy. This beautiful lady did more than volunteering at the hospital.”

Additional survivors include three daughters, Margaret Hube of Alpharetta, Lisa Dudley of Ball Ground and Ellen Meadows of St. Louis; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.