Written by Sharyn’s family:

With love and gratitude, we remember Sharyn Dowd, who passed away on February 8 at the age of 78. Sharyn was born on February 14 in Atlanta,Georgia, and she left this life from the same hospital where she was born.  We will celebrate her entrance to heaven on her birthday, Saturday, February 14, 2026 at First Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia in the Fellowship Hall  at 2:30 pm.

Sharyn grew up with her parents Edward and Doris Dowd,  brother Bryan and sister Doris on a farm near Rome, Georgia. The family moved closer to town, and she graduated from East Rome High School in 1965, then on to Wake Forest University where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1969. During her college years, she embraced the cause of social justice, a commitment that endured for the rest of her life, as she worked in inner city ministries for decades. 

Sharyn found a renewed faith in Christ while living in North Carolina after college, and received her M. Div. from Southeastern Seminary, followed by her Ph.D. at Emory, earning her degree in New Testament. Her research on the gospel of Mark led to her wide recognition as a  New Testament scholar. She served on the faculty at the Lexington Theological Seminary, and then Baylor University, continuing to publish in academic journals as well as to teach and mentor students.

But she never lost her first love for church ministry, and upon retirement from Baylor, she moved to Decatur, GA where she served on the staff of First Baptist Church, then moving to help in the early days of  Edgewood Church, which became the center of her life in recent years. She also loved Kenya, and visited the Komolion village many times, working with the Baylor Men’s Choir to help this village develop. She also committed hours of service to Braver Angels, serving as one of the Georgia leaders,  tirelessly seeking to bring people together in civil discourse. 

She leaves behind her brother Bryan and his wife Susan, sister Doris and her husband Doug, cousin Mary Inglis and her husband John, other beloved cousins, and  six nieces and nephews and their spouses and  children. Her eighteen grand-nieces and nephews were the joy of her life, and she loved giving gifts not only to her family but to more others than can be imagined. She held all material things loosely, sharing her home, her finances, her love, and her fudge with anyone in need. 

Sharyn lived to help others find the unconditional, overflowing acceptance that she experienced in Christ, not by way of argument, but through simple love. So to honor her memory, those who wish to may donate to Edgewood Church or Komolion Fund.