Jo Ann Parham Lawson

Jo Ann Parham Lawson passed away the evening of Thursday, September 21, 2017. Jo Ann, or, Mama-Jo to her eight grandchildren, died peacefully in her home surrounded by loved ones. Funeral services will be held at 11:00am, Monday, September 25, 2017 at Forsyth United Methodist Church. Darris Baker and Ken Stephens will officiate. Mrs. Lawson’s nephews will serve as pallbearers. Graveside services will follow at the Sardis Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery, 1473 Wes Lawson Road, Kite, GA, at 4:00pm.  The family will welcome friends to join them in remembrance of Mrs. Lawson at 189 West Johnston Street, Forsyth, GA, the home of her daughter Gaylyn Cole and family, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on the evening of Sunday, September 24, 2017 for a visitation.  Jo Ann was born on January 12, 1943 to Albert Parham and Blanche Lanier of Twin City, Georgia. While a student at the University of Georgia she met the love of her life, Jimmy Neal Lawson of Swainsboro, Georgia. In 1963, the two were married. Upon Mr. Lawson’s graduation from the University of Georgia’s College of Pharmacy, the young couple moved to Forsyth, Georgia where they began a business and a family in the community that would become their beloved home for the next five decades. Ms. Lawson completed her education at Tift College in Forsyth and went on to teach school and coach cheerleading at Monroe Academy.  Mama-Jo served her family and her God with all the energy and care beholden to the great love she felt for both. Friends and family remember her as a woman who never rested until work was done and done well. Her home was her joy, and she found innumerable ways to brighten it and the lives of all who entered. She excelled in the art of baking, a passion she passed on to several of her granddaughters. She sang in the choir at Forsyth United Methodist Church, and her home was always full of music. Mama-Jo loved all sports and never missed one of her children or grandchildren’s games. Her loyalties were particularly strong to the Georgia Bulldogs and the Mercer Bears. She was not an avid hunter, but she was the best shot in the family.  Her husband, Jimmy Neal Lawson, preceded her in death in June of this year, and the family takes comfort in knowing that the two have been reunited in heaven. Also preceding her in death are her father, mother, and sister, Jean Williams. She will be missed by her three children, Jimmy Neal Lawson Jr. (Julie), of Bostwick, GA, Carter Albert Lawson of Abu Dhabi- UAE, and Merry Gaylyn Cole (Jim) of Forsyth, GA; and eight grandchildren, Madeleine, Charlotte, Sinclair, Jana, Margo, Carl, Caroline, and Lawson.The family would like to express their appreciation to her dedicated caregivers, Lue Barkley, Cynthia Best, and Willie Mae Taylor.  In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Forsyth United Methodist Church, her beloved church home of almost fifty years, or Pine Pointe Hospice of Central Georgia, 6261 Peake Rd, Macon, GA 31210.Monroe County Memorial Chapel has charge of arrangements.