Marilynn Tanner Mobley

A life-long Bulldog fan and Georgia native, Marilynn Eugenia Tanner Mobley, 57, is survived by her beloved husband of 32 years, Ralph Dean Mobley Jr., and two beautiful daughters, Kathryn Elyse and Sydney Alayne. She is also survived by her mother Lillian Moye Tanner and her siblings Norris Tanner, Janice Tanner Sweat, her twin sister Marikaye Tanner Hyers, and Neil Tanner as well as many nieces and nephews, all from Waycross, GA. She had two very special dogs, Fender and Max.

Marilynn’s first and most important love in life was her family. She met her husband Ralph at the University of Georgia, where they began their courtship as friends living in the Oglethorpe-House dorm. They reconnected when they both worked for Coastal Area Planning and Development Commission in Brunswick, GA. They cherished their two girls – and Marilynn dedicated the book she wrote later in life to the three of them, with thanks for loving her always, “even when I don’t say exactly the right thing at exactly the right time. There is no better sound bite than “I love you.” Their daughter Katy was born in West Palm Beach, Florida in August 1985. She graduated from the University of Georgia in December 2007 and currently works at Trimont Real Estate Advisors in Atlanta, GA. Sydney was born in Atlanta in August 1989. She graduated from Georgia Tech in December 2011 and currently works at IBM in Washington D.C. as a federal consultant.

Marilynn’s second love in life was being the consummate professional, mentor and networker. At the young age of 16, she was hired as a cub reporter for the Blackshear Times, which cemented her love for writing and journalism. After working briefly for the Thomasville paper, where she met and wrote a story about former Governor George Busby, she became one of the first graduates of Waycross College. Always a student, she also earned degrees from the University of Georgia, in both Political Science and Journalism. She took a job with Atlanta Gaslight, as a Communications Specialist before taking a career job at IBM. For the next 17 years, she worked hard to persuade the media to produce positive stories about the company, its executives, its products, events, causes, and finances. In 1996, she struck out on her own and established her own business, Acorn Consulting, Inc., where she provided public relations support to Fortune 100 companies, wrote a book entitled, “The Scoop on Media Interviews,” and became a sought after motivational speaker and trainer. In her final career move, she joined Edelman, the world’s largest public relations firm, where she was again elevated several times and helped spearhead the firm’s global training program for its employees.

Marilynn had an innate sense about people, their passions and their career paths. She was just as likely to keep in touch with a CEO as she would an intern and would frequently post witty comments on people’s social channels to keep in touch and ‘remain relevant,’ which was one of her favorite speaking topics. This included friends and colleagues alike, including her MasterMind group, former colleagues who would reach back years later seeking counsel and advice, and even new acquaintances who were immediately attracted to her quick wit and blunt honesty.

The family perfers that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the American Kidney Fund, www.kidneyfund.org or the Sarcoma Foundation of America, www.curesarcoma.org.