Tara D. Lewis, 52, of Blakely, GA, passed away Saturday, May 23, 2026.
The funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 29, 2026, at Bryant Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Tucker Lewis officiating. Interment will follow at Oak City Cemetery with Aaron Chaney, Jeremy Chaney, Tucker Lewis, Jr., Courtney Pollock, Tyler Pollock, and Jason Rose serving as active 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 St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105 www.stjude.org/donate
Tara Diane Lewis was born April 30, 1974, in Hammond, LA, the daughter of Nelson & Lynne McDonald Lewis. She was a graduate of Bainbridge High School and earned her paramedic certification. Tara served with Seminole County Emergency Medical Services. She was a member of Blakely First Methodist Church.
Tara carried herself with the calm confidence of someone who had spent decades running toward emergencies while everyone else ran away. As a paramedic, she had seen people on the worst days of their lives, and somehow, she always knew exactly what to say. Her hands were steady in chaos, her voice reassuring even in the back of a screaming ambulance. She loved the work, not because it was exciting, but because it mattered. Every patient was somebody’s parent, child, spouse, or friend, and she treated them all like family. The long shifts and sleepless nights never hardened her. If anything, they made her softer, more patient, more aware of how fragile and precious life could be.
Outside of work, she poured that same warmth into the people she loved. Her grandchildren were the center of her universe, and she never missed a chance to spoil them. She enjoyed quiet moments with her cross-stitch projects, getting lost in a good book, or sitting down with her coloring books for hours of peaceful relaxation. But conversation was where it was at for Tara. Grocery store lines, waiting rooms, neighborhood cookouts, it didn’t matter where she was or who you were. She could talk to anybody about anything, and somehow make you feel interesting, heard, and important. People often walked away from her feeling lighter than before, as if kindness itself had briefly taken human form and stopped to chat awhile.
Survivors include her children, Sulyn Cherry (BJ), Caitlin Carter, Allyson Carter, and Holden Messer; her grandchildren, Hannah, Aiden, Jamie, Winslet, Anna, Emma, and Wren; and her siblings, Tucker & Lori Lewis and Suzanne & John Lambert; and a host of extended family. In addition to her parents, Tara was preceded in death by her son, Tyler Allen, and her grandson, Jayden.
Bryant Funeral Home, located at 105 N. Florida Street, is assisting the family with arrangements. (229-246-3321)
