Mary Renfroe Taryla Dies at 92

Mary Agnes Renfroe Taryla, a 92-year-old Lithia Springs woman, passed away Friday at Wellstar Tranquility Hospice.

A native of Lithia Springs, she was born July 30, 1919, the daughter of the late Jessie Otis Renfroe and the late Willie M. Couch Renfroe. After graduating from Douglas County High School, she attended nursing school at Crawford Long Hospital when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

She joined the Army at Ft. McPherson in Atlanta, where she served as the Assistant to the Chief of Nurses. She obtained the rank of First Lieutenant in the U.S. Nursing Corp both as a General Duty Nurse and an Operating Room Nurse. She married Anthony F. Taryla on November 25, 1945.

After World War II, she and her husband returned to Douglas County to make it their home. She earned her Registered Nurse degree from the University of Georgia.

During her nursing career, she worked as an instructor at Crawford W. Long School of Nursing from 1956-1957. She later worked for the Georgia Department of Public Health in Douglas County and was instrumental in opening the Health Center in Lithia Springs in 1975.

She continued her nursing career until her retirement in 1988. She was a member of the Georgia Nursing Association and the League of Nursing.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Anthony F. Taryla Sr.; her son, Anthony F. Taryla Jr.; sister, Bessie Skaling; and brother, J. Edward Renfroe.

She is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Dr. Marianne F. Taryla and Dr. Scott Alexander of Douglasville; her daughter in law, Barbara Taryla of Temple; two grandchildren, Caitlin Taryla and Anthony John Taryla; sister-in-law, Ruth Renfroe of Douglasville; three nieces, Patricia Deason of Macon, Gail Brand of Griffin, and Betty Smith of Tennessee; and nephew, Edward Davis of Griffin.

The family received friends at the Jones-Wynn Funeral Home on Sunday. Mass of Christian Burial was conducted Monday at in Lithia Springs, with Father Timothy Lyons officiating. Internment followed at Our Lady’s Memory Garden in Carrollton.