April 8, 1929 –

Sept. 8, 2013

Irene Perry Nalls, 84, of Brinson, passed away Sunday, Sept. 8, 2013 at her residence.

The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013 at Ivey Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Danny Shepard, Rev. Marty Brock and Dr. Kenneth Cloud officiating, and will conclude at the chapel. Interment will be at Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery near Brinson, with James Campbell, Kenny Sandlin, Eddie Cook, John Bridges, Jr., Ralph Powell, Jr., and Lee Key serving as active pallbearers.

The family will receive friends at the chapel immediately following the service.

Memorial donations may be made to Gentiva Hospice, 432 East Shotwell Street, Bainbridge, GA 39819.

Mrs. Nalls was born April 8, 1929 in Iron City, Ga., the daughter of Marceleous “Cell” Burson Perry and Ethel Lee Clark Perry. Irene and Grimes had a special bond that began in 1944 when they met at Brinson School. Their love was so profound and everlasting, always kissing each other hello and good-bye with the same words, “I love you Sugar.” Gifts were labeled “To: Sugar and From: Sugar.” She was one of the first two kindergarten teachers when Calvary Baptist first started the kindergarten program. After six years, she became a librarian in Quincy, Fla. and later a librarian in Jasper County, Ga. She retired as a para-pro with the Decatur County School System. Whether a member of First Baptist Church in Quincy, or Calvary Baptist in Bainbridge, she was a dedicated Sunday School teacher who worked with all age groups from Pre-K to young adults. Mrs. Nalls was most recently a member of Pine Grove Baptist Church. Irene loved the Lord and began each day with her daily Bible readings and praying for her children and grandchildren, calling them by name. Her hobbies included, quilting, word-search puzzles, and following the Atlanta Braves, NASCAR, and University of Georgia football.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her siblings, Janie P. Maxwell, Geneva P. Clark, Agnes P. Ingram, Selma P. Glore, Dixie P. Heath, Clark B. Perry.

Survivors include her husband of 68 years, Grimes Nalls of Brinson; her children, Joyce N. Lodge and her husband, Robert, of Brinson, and DeWayne Nalls of Brinson; her grandchildren, Donna L. Reynolds of Bainbridge, Tracy L. Jones and her husband, Bill, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Travis M. Lodge and his wife, Shaina, of Gainesville, Fla., and Allen DeWayne Nalls, of Bainbridge; her great-grandchildren, Alyssa Bardwell of Athens, Ga., Ryan Bardwell of Bainbridge, Lucas Reynolds of Bainbridge, Jordan Jones of Tuscaloosa, and Bailey Grace Jones of Tuscaloosa; her brother-in-law, Billy Nalls, and his wife, Faye, of Monticello, Ga; her sisters-in-law, Lucy Nell Nalls Foy of Shalimar, Fla., Thelma R. Nalls of Bainbridge; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Ivey Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.