Wynona Bailey

Wynona Ann Jones Bailey, 99, of Johns Creek, GA passed away on September 22, 2023, just a month shy of her 100th birthday. Born October 23, 1923, in Hugo, Oklahoma to the late George Ernest and Wynona Alice Pennington Shelton, she spent her youth in Oklahoma and Texas before moving to Atlanta, GA in 1950 and then to Montgomery, AL in 1976 where she lived until 2011 when she relocated to Johns Creek to be near family.

Wynona was and always shall be a great inspiration to those who knew her. She faced life’s every challenge with elegance, grace and dignity and provided us all with a role model of a true Southern lady. She was a woman of great faith and love. She cherished her family and friends, as they cherished her.

On a notepad beside her chair she had written these words from an unknown source: “Butterflies are symbols of hope. They land beside us, like sunbeams, and belong to us for a moment, but then they fly away. And while we wish they may have stayed longer to share their beauty, we feel blessed for having seen them.” We are indeed blessed to have had the beautiful butterfly Wynona in our lives.

Wynona was preceded in death by her first husband, R. B. Jones of Wichita Falls, TX who was killed in World War II in 1945 leaving her a widow at the age of 21. In 1950, she and her young daughter moved to Atlanta where she worked in the Southeastern Regional Office of Chevrolet for twenty-six years and, in the early seventies, became one of the first female district managers for Chevrolet. In 1976, she married James Wade Bailey and moved to Montgomery, AL where she lived for 35 years. Jim predeceased her in 2012.

She was also preceded in death by her brothers, George Allen Shelton of Hugo, OK, Edmond Andrew Shelton of Waco, TX, and Theodore Ernest Shelton of Chattanooga, TN.

Wynona is survived by her daughter, Pamela Jones Sammons (Donald Reichardt) of Johns Creek, GA, granddaughter Laralynn Pfohl Bonham (John) of Asheville, NC, great grandchildren Eli & Ada Grace and by Pam’s stepchildren Susan Sammons Jones (Robert) of Fort Collins, CO, and Steven Charles Sammons (Paige) of Port Tobacco, MD, and their families. She is also survived by one sister-in-law, Brenda Talley Shelton of Chattanooga, TN, and by numerous nieces and nephews.

A funeral service followed by a reception will be held on Monday, October 9, at 11:00 a.m. at Leak Memory Chapel, 945 Lincoln Road, Montgomery, AL, 36109.

If you would like to honor Wynona, please consider a donation in her memory to Frazer Church, 6000 Atlanta Highway, Montgomery, AL 36117 or to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org .

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Leak-MC.com for the Bailey family.