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Joan McIntosh Alexander
1929 - November 22, 2019

Obituary​

Joan McIntosh Alexander, aged 90, died on November 22, 2019, in Peachtree City, Georgia. The only child of William Avery McIntosh and Thelma Rhenie Huntington McIntosh, Mrs. Alexander was born in Brunswick, GA in 1929 and grew up on the coast of Georgia in Glynn and Wayne counties. She attended Glynn Academy and graduated from Valdosta (GA) High School. She continued her education at Georgia State Women's College (now Valdosta State University) and received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Georgia State University. She met her husband, Lawrence Glen Alexander (known to his family and friends as Alex), a pilot for Eastern Airlines, while a stewardess for Southern Airways. After knowing each other for only six months, they were married in 1952 at First Presbyterian Church, Valdosta. As was the custom at the time, stewardesses were not permitted to be married, so she continued her employment with both Southern and subsequently Eastern in ground operations. The next several years were spent raising her three sons in the Atlanta area and pursuing her favorite leisure activities of golf and bridge. Upon Alex's retirement from Eastern, they moved to their home at the Lake Lanier Sailing Club in Flowery Branch, GA, spending the summersand many winterssailing up and down the lake. They were very active in all parts of the club, forming many long-lasting friendships that have endured to this day. As their sons grew and began their own lives, Mrs. Alexander pursued several careers including elementary school teacher, real estate agent, travel agent, and head of the proof department for Lottery Production Services, now known as the Georgia Lottery Corporation. A lifelong member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Mrs. Alexander was keenly interested in genealogy. The McIntoshes came to the Province of Georgia in 1734 aboard the Prince of Wales as part of the original 177 Highlanders recruited from Clan Chattan in Inverness-shire to defend the nascent colony from Spanish Florida. She was a direct lineal descendant of Colonel William McIntosh, who commanded a regiment of light horse in the Continental Army during the American revolt against rule by Great Britain. Mrs. Alexander served as Regent of the Colonel William Candler chapter of the DAR in Gainesville GA and remained active in the organization throughout her life. She was formerly a member of Trinity Presbyterian Church (Gainesville GA) and a current member of Fayetteville (GA) First United Methodist Church. She is survived by her three sons: Lawrence Glen Alexander, Jr., and his wife, Leslie Zellers, of Oakland, CA; William McIntosh Alexander, and his wife, Beth, of Alexandria, VA; and Joseph Martin Alexander of Atlanta, GA; and five grandchildren: Lawrence Glen Alexander, III, and Sylvia Joan Alexander; John McIntosh Alexander, Samuel Marston Alexander, and Elisabeth Anne Alexander. Her husband of 54 years, Lawrence Glen Alexander, predeceased her in 2007. Inurnment of the cremains, to include a private, family memorial service will be at Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington VA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mrs. Alexander's name to the James Waldrop Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, in care of Mrs. Eileen S. Zito, Treasurer, 130 Bay Dr,, Newnan, GA 30263.