Barbara Devane Pearson passed away peacefully on May 14, 2012.
She was born on September 14, 1933 in Thomaston. She was the only child of James W. Adams and Willie Belle Williams Adams, both of Thomaston.
Devane, as she was affectionately and lovingly known, was educated in a little log cabin for her kindergarten and grammar school years in Thomaston.
She received her secondary school diploma in 1951 from the Robert E. Lee Institute in Thomaston. She played first clarinet in the school band, the piano for numerous events, and was a model, happy, well-adjusted teenager, always helping others first.
She received her RN degree from the Georgia Baptist School of Nursing in 1955. She became employed as a nurse at Grady Memorial Hospital thereafter.
She remained there for many years until she enrolled in the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Medical Program at the University of Alabama Medical School. Two years later she proudly graduated with her CRNA degree. She returned to Grady where she rose quickly to become Chief of Staff of the anesthesia department. For eight years Barbara proved to be a highly competent, compassionate and disciplined leader to the many CRNA and employees under her control. She was loved and cherished by them all.
She build that department into one of the best and most successful in the South.
She retired in 1997 in Madison, from anesthesia while at Morgan Memorial Hospital.
She was very successful in the antique business in Atlanta and Madison. She had deep passions for landscaping, remodeling residences and she was an indefatigable reader.
Mrs. Pearson was a selfless, angelic saint. God's missions for her were in nurturing and caring for others, not only in her career, but in the countless lives she touched in her 78 blessed years of service to her God.
She is survived by her daughter, Molly Elizabeth Pearson; her husband, Terrill Brooks Pearson, Jr.; her maternal uncle, Millard Williams; and a host of kin.
Her funeral service and reception was held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 19 at H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill in Atlanta.
The family requests that any contributions on her behalf be made to the anesthesia department at the Mercer University Medical Center in Macon.

Printed in the May 24, 2012 edition