Ann Garner Rinaldi

Ann was born in Atlanta, GA to Allie Mae Dixon Garner and Horace B. Garner on November 16, 1931. She attended E. Rivers Elementary School and graduated from North Fulton High School in 1948. She received her B.S. in Nursing from Emory University in 1952. She received her M.S. in Nursing Education from St. John’s University and nearly completed her PhD with postgraduate work at Georgia State University in Curriculum and Instruction.

Ann was preceded in death by her parents, Allie Mae and Horace and her sister, Harriet Garner Cooper. She is survived by her daughter, Mary Rinaldi Winn, grandchildren, James Winn and Madeleine Winn, niece, Harriet Cooper Collingwood and great nieces, Catherine Collingwood Jimenez (Javier) and Stephanie Collingwood Deaton (Larry) and three great, great nieces and three great, great nephews.

Ann grew up in the Buckhead community in a very special time when everyone knew each other. Ann had a career in Nursing for over 50 years primarily in teaching and working with staff and patients. She loved serving people in need and for that reason she loved the active part of nursing, but what she loved most was teaching. After retiring she became a professional artist and was a member of the High Museum of Atlanta and the Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA). She volunteered as a docent at OUMA for over ten years and took eight art courses in the Oglethorpe Art program. She also gave workshops in conscious aging and became a certified leader in the philosophy of “From Aging to Saging”. Ann actively worked for the last 40+ years of her life with recovering alcoholics, primarily women.

Ann leaves a legacy of family, friendship, serving others and appreciation of art. Ann will always be remembered for her engaging and welcoming smile, her easy laugh and lively humor, her life-long love of learning and reading, her deep faith and strong spiritual life and most of all, her ability to make and keep friends for a lifetime. She loved getting to know people and learning about other people’s lives and stories. Ann inspired many around her, including her grandchildren and her great, great niece to love and express themselves through art. Ann’s art hangs in homes and businesses throughout the Southeast and beyond.

A funeral mass will be held on Friday, March 11 at 10 a.m. at Cathedral of Christ the King. A livestream viewing will be available at: https://livestream.com/ctk

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider supporting art education through a gift to:

Oglethorpe University: https://alumni.oglethorpe.edu/give (choose “Other” under designation and write “in Memory of Ann Rinaldi”).

Mill Springs Academy Fine Arts Department: https://www.millsprings.org/support-msa/give

St. Pius X Fine Arts: https://www.spx.org/support