Beverly Faye Granger Whitley

Beverly Faye Granger Whitley was born November 10, 1942 in Moultrie, Georgia,
and passed away peacefully on July 31 after an extended illness.
Beverly is survived by her husband of 39 years, Joe Whitley, her children, Lynn Dodson Price (Bill) of Graceville, Florida; Todd Dodson of Crawfordville, Florida; Michelle Dodson McKay (John) of Tallahassee, Florida; stepson Craig Whitley of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; sister Joan Granger Tucker of Tallahassee, Florida; grandchildren, Ashley Dodson Burch (Ethan) of Chattanooga, Tennessee; Amy Dodson of Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Aaron Dodson of Hiawassee, Georgia; one great-grandchild, her namesake, Beverly Dylan Burch. She was preceded in death by her parents, J.T. Granger and Gladys Granger.

Talented and artistic, Beverly enjoyed oil painting and loved “adding a little friend” (just as Bob Ross
instructed) to her landscapes. She’s in Heaven now, probably looking for the tube of Van Dyke Brown to
underpaint the trees just so. Cooking was also one of her greatest pleasures, and much like her Mother
enjoyed sharing favorite recipes and tips. Luckily for us, she was always on standby for emergency phone
consults when someone’s gravy was too lumpy, or you needed a last minute ingredient substitution if you
didn’t have something on hand. A bit of a purist, it is safe to say she believed her Thanksgiving dressing recipe was not to be altered. And don’t even think about marshmallows on the sweet potato casserole. Both her pound cake and red velvet cake were divine, and even though she was the only one that liked her “pineapple-upside-down-flip-flop” it didn’t seem to trouble her. Her baking prowess earned her the nickname “the dessert snob.” There will never be a meal that we won’t use her handwritten recipes and remember how much she loved bringing her family together during the holidays. Bev was a voracious reader, and as an early Kindle devotee contributed mightily to Amazon’s “sci-fi genre” revenue. (You’re welcome Jeff Bezos!) Bev also adapted very early to her iPhone and enjoyed watching baby and kitten videos and “facetiming” the grands. Furthering her “techie” status, she insisted on joining Twitter, listing herself as “an old goat” in her bio. She had a terrific sense of humor, which undoubtedly came in handy as she scrolled political twitter. Over the last several years, you always knew how sick she was if she wasn’t asking “where’s my book and my phone?” Ditto watching the “B the B” and Netflix. With sincere apologies to the company, Bev’s Netflix password was used by roughly 96 young adults for years and years.
She loved her family deeply, and was a devoted Mother and Grandmother. Her loving kindness and gentle
nature belied a strong will. She was a warrior. After treatment for a very rare cancer in 2011, she continued
to face mounting and complex health challenges. Her sheer will and strength of spirit kept her going, along
with the assistance of her dedicated physicians and caregivers. Our family is forever grateful for the life-saving care she received at MD Anderson, and that she remained cancer-free. We’d be remiss not to thank her truly gifted physicians at Northside Atlanta for their diligence and empathy over the last three years. Dr. John MacKay, his wife Kym and their entire staff have been a blessing. Caregiving is the ultimate expression of love, and we are indebted to Kristi Kephart and Peggy Mashburn for their selfless care and kindness.
Though her spirit still wasn’t quite ready, her body had other plans. Our only comfort is knowing that she is
free of suffering, and that she is reunited with our Granny, her beloved Mother. In lieu of flowers, our family hopes you will do something “The Bev” would enjoy and eat dessert first. She was truly beautiful inside and out, and we will miss her dearly.