Jennifer Sullivan Dudley

Jennifer Sullivan Dudley, of Calhoun, passed away quietly at home, surrounded by her family, on May 12, 2021, after a courageous 16-month battle with cancer.

Jennifer was born August 25, 1970 in Atlanta and moved with her family to Calhoun in 1973. She was a 1988 graduate of Calhoun High School and attended Auburn University from 1988 to 1992 and studied interior design. While at Auburn, she met and later married Russell Dudley from Seale, Alabama. They moved to Calhoun in 1994 and together they raised two daughters, Noel and Mary Grace.
Jennifer’s time in her adult life was spent working as an interior designer, a stay-at-home Mom, partner and owner of the Biddy Boutique, and then as the director of Harris Arts Center in Calhoun from 2017 until her death. She especially loved her work at the Arts Center and worked tirelessly to advance the arts and philanthropy in northwest Georgia. She was a long-time member of the Calhoun Woman’s Club, serving as Co-Chair of the Sequoyah Ball in 1999. She and Russell are members of Calhoun First Methodist Church, where she served as a Trustee and middle school Sunday School teacher at various times. Jennifer’s strong and enduring faith in the Lord and Jesus Christ was a source of strength for she and her family, especially during her illness.

Jennifer was a physically active person. She was an avid tennis player and runner and completed half-marathons on two separate occasions. She also loved Auburn sporting events and she and Russell traveled all over the country at different times for Auburn football games.

Jennifer is survived by her husband and children, as well as her parents, Frank and Mary Alice Sullivan of Calhoun, a brother, John (Johanna) Sullivan of Atlanta, in-laws, William and Noel Dudley of Seale, Alabama, brothers-in-law, Beau (Laura) and Ward Dudley of Pittsview and Seale, Alabama, and 3 nephews, Roan Sullivan, Liam Sullivan, and Rhett Dudley, and one niece, Frances Dudley, as well as numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Memorial Service will be conducted on Saturday, May 15, 2021 at 11 AM from Calhoun First Methodist Church with Reverend Ed Archer officiating.

The family will receive friends on Friday, May 14, 2021 from 5 PM until 8 PM at Thomas Funeral Home.

The family would like to offer a special thanks to the staffs of AdventHealth Gordon, Peeples Cancer Institute, and Homespun Hospice for exemplary work and care during Jennifer’s illness.

In lieu of gifts of flowers, the family has established the Jennifer S. Dudley Memorial Fund with the Northwest Georgia Community Foundation. Donations in Jennifer’s memory can be directed to the Northwest Georgia Community Foundation, P.O. Box 942, Dalton, GA 30721.