John Lee Avery

A Celebration of Life for Mr. John L. Avery, 81, will be held on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 11:00 AM at Greater Thankful Baptist Church in Anniston. Pastor E. Tramaine Solomon, Rev. William Foster, Rev. Martino Wynn, and Rev. Byron Jackson will be officiating the service. Mr. Avery will be laid to rest in Anniston Memorial Gardens following the service. Visitation will be held at Greater Thankful Baptist Church one hour prior to the service on Saturday.
John departed this life on June 19, 2025.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Mamie C. Smith; a daughter, Natascha; three brothers, MC, Rickey, and Melvin; and two sisters, Linda and Patricia.
John was born March 22, 1944, to the late Mamie C. Smith in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
He confessed Christ at an early age and later united with Greater Thankful Missionary Baptist Church in Anniston, where he remained a faithful servant until death, under the leadership of Reverend P.Q. English.
John married his high school sweetheart, Sarah Robinson, at the age of 22, and to that union two children were born, Travis and Natascha, which he proclaimed as his proudest family accomplishment.
John joined the United States Army in 1962 and rose to the rank of First Sergeant before retiring on June 30, 1985. He then continued his Federal Service by joining the United States Post Office from 1986 until July 30, 1999. John was well known for his loyalty to the University of Alabama and was an avid Roll Tide fan.
Left to cherish the memory of John include his devoted wife of 59 years, Sarah; one son, Travis (Deidra) Avery of Chandler, Arizona; three grandchildren, Landen, Larissa, and Tanasia; two sisters, Julia (William) Foster and Lorraine Coleman, all of Anniston; two brothers, Larry Coleman of Maine and Jerry Coleman of Massachusetts; a host of devoted nieces and nephews; and many faithful friends.
To know John was to love him and he will be greatly missed.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which was planted."