Joanne Toole Clements

Joanne Toole Clements, 91, of Bainbridge, GA, passed away Sunday, October 9, 2022.

The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, 2022, at Bryant Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Stephen Webb officiating. A private interment will be held at Roselawn Memory Gardens. Chris Hill, Michael Midler, Maurice Gaines, Trey Mock, Todd McMillan, Joe Talley, and Harry Heaton will serve as honorary pallbearers.

The family will receive friends immediately following the service. Online visitors may sign the guest register at www.bryantfuneralga.com. Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, PO Box 7067, Bainbridge, GA 39818.

Joanne Toole was born November 21, 1930, in Bainbridge, GA, the daughter of Otis M. Toole, Sr. and Winnieford Dell Toole. She was a graduate of Bainbridge High School, Class of 1949. She married Roderick "Clem" Clements in 1955 and made it clear she was never leaving Bainbridge, GA. She worked for Decatur County Board of Education as a secretary and in her later years as a substitute teacher. Joanne was a member of First Presbyterian Church and the J. Sydney Cochran Hall of Fame.

The idea "Once a Bearcat, Always a Bearcat" probably originated with Joanne. She was a Bainbridge girl through and through never having a desire to leave the hometown she loved. Joanne enjoyed sitting by the pool or on the beach, always with an ice-cold Coca~Cola. It should be no surprise her footwear of choice was either sandals or flip flops; she wanted easy access to put her toes in the water or sand. Dining with friends, catching up on the latest news, and rocking in her chair is how she passed the time. During the holidays, Joanne would bake fruitcakes in hopes it would tide you over until the next season because she loved eating out more than cooking. The Post Searchlight and Tallahassee Democrat were her main sources for information, and she kept clippings of every important event to share with future generations. Bainbridge Bearcats, Georgia Bulldogs, and Alabama Crimson Tide were teams she followed like she was the team mom. Students spanning generations learned the importance of reading the newspaper and being informed from Joanne who was surely the favorite substitute teacher.

Survivors include her brother, Otis M. "Son" Toole, Jr. and his wife, Mary Frances of Bainbridge; her grandchildren, Rebecca & Adam, Kristina & Robert, Michael & Jessica, Jenna, and Rodney & Julia; her great-grandchildren, Vanessa, Grace, Logan, Brantley, Parker, Reagan, Braxton, Cason, Gavin, Roxie, and Landon; her daughter-in-law, Amy Jackson; and the hundreds of students she kept in line with her antics. In addition to her parents, Joanne was preceded in death by her husband of 31 years, Roderick B. "Clem" Clements, Sr.; and her children, Roderick "Roddy" Clements, Jr. and Roxie Jean Clements Chambless.