Myrl Mallory

Myrl Chitwood Mallory, 95, formerly of Thomaston, died Friday, May 3, in Athens. A long-time Upson County Public Health Nurse and advocate for the less fortunate, Mrs. Mallory sought to “make a difference” even into her final years. She was born in White County, spent her childhood in Taylor County, and moved to Thomaston in 1934 to work at B. F. Goodrich. After working several years to support her widowed mother, she saved enough money to enter Georgia Baptist School of Nursing in 1942. While there, she was President of the Baptist Student Union. In 1945, she graduated, earned her Registered Nurse license, and joined the U. S. Cadet Nurse Corps. She was stationed at St. Albans Naval Hospital in Long Island, New York, and nursed sailors wounded in Pacific battles. After the war ended, she moved back to Thomaston and married Alan Mallory, a returning GI, who opened Mallory Motor Company in 1946. She was hired by Dr. J. M. McKenzie to be Upson’s first Public Health Nurse in 1948 and worked there until her retirement in 1982. She was then appointed to the Upson County Board of Health, on which she served until 2005. Mrs. Mallory was a member of First Baptist Church where she worked with House of Care, WMU, and enjoyed visiting nursing homes and the women’s jail, spreading the love of Christ wherever she went. In 1996, she was selected a Community Hero Torchbearer and carried the Olympic Torch through Thomaston, a fitting tribute for one who had carried the torch for the poor, elderly, and disabled of Upson County for a lifetime. The Sertoma Club selected her for the 1997 “Service to Mankind” award. In 2005, her nursing experiences were included in “The History of Public Health Nursing in Georgia”. Further recognition of her leadership in Public Health Nursing came when Mercer University named her to the 2006 Hall of Honor. She is survived by her daughters Bonnie (Harold) Jones of Athens, Joy (Mac) McIndoe of Montgomery, Alabama, and her son Alan Mallory of Gainesville. Her grandchildren include Melissa (Greg) Dawkins of Powdersville, South Carolina, Holly McIndoe of Nashville, Tennessee, Amanda Jones of Berkeley, California, Austin Jones of Athens, Georgia, and Elizabeth Mallory, Hannah Myrl Mallory, and Julia Kay Mallory, all of Gainesville. A Memorial Service will be held at First Baptist Church on Sunday, May 5, at 2:30 pm with Dr. Ed Cliburn and Rev. Bill Barber officiating. Pasley-Fletcher Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.