OBITUARIES: DECATUR: JoAnn D. Scott, 73, noble ‘Sunshine Girl’

JoAnn Scott was one of the “Sunshine Girls.”

It was a group of about a dozen women who, in the words of relatives, “grew up Decatur.” They graduated from Decatur High School decades ago and remained tight-knit through the years. They often gathered to play bridge, swap stories and sip wine. Friends.

“Everybody marvels at the fact that my parents still hung out with the people they went to elementary and high school together, right there in Decatur,” said her eldest daughter, Leigh Ann Sadler of Decatur.

“Ever since I was a little girl, [Mrs. Scott] has played bridge with this group. As they got older, they did a lot more than play bridge. We dubbed them the Sunshine Girls —- a take on [the TV series] ‘Hazel.’ “

Charles Scott, her husband of 51 years, said the group eventually started traveling together —- Fernandina Beach, Fla.; Hiawassee; and different spots along the East Coast. He estimates the Sunshine Girls have known each other for about five decades.

“They were very close,” her husband said. “They all have been by within the last day or so.”

JoAnn Dodson Scott, 73, of Decatur died Thursday at her home. The funeral is 11 a.m. today at Decatur Presbyterian Church. A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.

Mr. Scott used a word repeatedly when he talked about his wife: Noble. They met at Georgia State University in the mid-1950s, and in 1957 got married. Mr. Scott transferred to Oglethorpe University; his wife, after two years of studies, took a secretarial job at Agnes Scott College while he earned a degree.

“She never got her degree,” Mr. Scott said. “We were very poor at the time. She quit school and helped me get through. It was noble. She was a pretty noble girl.”

Mrs. Scott was in her mid-30s when she learned that she had malignant carcinoma. She was in remission for a decade, then the growth returned. She underwent a double mastectomy. Her experience as a 30-year breast cancer survivor became a source of strength for others; she volunteered for the Susan G. Komen Society.

“The Komen Society would tell patients to call her, and she’d talk them through it,” her husband said. “She worked with a lot of survivors. Very noble.”

Mrs. Scott was noble on the tennis court, too, despite displaying what relatives called a “wicked backhand.” She played in the USTA and ALTA leagues at Druid Hills Golf Club, and her team won awards as 2007 finalists and 1998 district champs, said her daughter, Lauralee Burke of Lawrenceville.

Other survivors include another daughter, Melanie Young of Park City, Utah; her mother, Josephine Dodson of Decatur; two sisters, Mary Louise Cattaneo of Satellite Beach, Fla., and Nancy Davis of Decatur; and four grandchildren.