Julia Bess Smith Scott

Julia Bess Smith Scott, 97, of Valdosta, died on Wednesday, September 12, after a short illness. She was born August 8, 1921 in Valdosta, Ga., to the late Dr. T.H. Smith, Sr. (1886-1983) and Corinne Briggs Smith (1896-1975). She was the oldest of five children. During her childhood, she attended summer camps at Camp Dixie in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Northeast Georgia, and she often talked of the good times she had there. She attended public schools in Valdosta, graduating from Valdosta High School and Georgia State Women's College (now known as Valdosta State University). Along with her sister, Corinne (“Sis”), she attended Katherine Gibbs Secretarial School in New York City in the mid-1940s. Later in that decade, she met a former U.S. Navy Lt. Cdr., then wholesale lumber broker, future banker, Thomas (Tom) Allen Scott, III. They were married in 1947 at the First Presbyterian Church in Valdosta.
She was a life-long member of the First Presbyterian Church and a proud member of The Garden Center (The Crescent) of which her mother was one of the founders. She was an avid bridge and tennis player. She thoroughly enjoyed picnics, bridge, swimming and parties at Loch Laurel. Most of all, she loved caring for and being with her family, including her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Tom, in 1985; by all four of her younger siblings — Corinne "Sis" Smith McGehee (1922-2009), Georgia Winn Smith Thomson (1925 – 2009), Dr. Thomas H. Smith, Jr. (1928-2010), and Dr. Henry Briggs Smith, Sr. (1932-2018); and one niece, Rebecca Winn Thomson Moore. She is survived by her three children, Thomas Allen Scott, IV (Mark) of Palm Springs, Calif., Julia Elizabeth Scott Street (Wesley), and Henry Pearce Scott (Lorraine) of Valdosta; five grandchildren, Thomas Emmett Street, Scott Wesley Street, Brenda Elizabeth Street, Taylor Pearce Scott, and Amelia Hollyn Scott; four great-grandchildren, Emmett Sayres Street, James Thomas Street, Elizabeth Louise Street, and Sylvia Crenshaw Street; as well as many nephews and nieces. She also adored all of her wonderful caregivers at Fellowship Home.
The family will hold a visitation on Saturday, September 15, from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. at Carson McLane Funeral Home with a graveside service to follow at 2 p.m. at Sunset Hills Cemetery. Rev. Dr. Glenda Hollingshead will officiate. Flowers may be gifted or donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 1094, Valdosta, GA 31603 or The Crescent, 904 N Patterson St., Valdosta, GA 31601. Condolences may be conveyed to the family at www.mclanecares.com. Carson McLane Funeral Home.