Georgia Kathrine Desjarlais
U.S. Navy
Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., to Lowell and Lucy Lawson, Kathy was raised in Fayette County, where she joined the Navy at 17, shortly before graduating from high school. Since Hospital Corpsman “A” school “female billets” were filled for the near future, Kathy signed up for a guaranteed “A” school as a Mess Management Specialist. The Navy not only allowed her to travel to forty-nine states, all seven continents, and twenty-one countries; but also gave her the opportunity to attend night school and eventually earn a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Hawaii Pacific College (now University) and, later, a Masters in Public Administration from Auburn University at Montgomery.
After 24 years of service to her country, she retired as a Lieutenant Commander with the following awards: Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service with w/Gold Star, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/2 Gold Stars, Navy/Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Navy “E” Ribbon w/Silver Wreath, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Antarctica Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/4 Bronze Stars, Navy/Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon w/Bronze Star, NATO Medal, and Supply Corps Surface Warfare device.
Kathy has fully embraced the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) mantra to “Never Stop Serving.” She is active in both local and national organizations. She is a member of the South Tipton County (STC) Chamber of Commerce (CoC) Board of Directors, a past president of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Memphis Branch, and a past state treasurer for AAUW of Tennessee. She is a member of the Aleutian Island Veterans Association, life member and treasurer of Disabled American Veterans Chapter 116, and life member and service officer of the Charles Porter Smith American Legion Post 237. She is a past state president of the MOAA Tennessee Council of Chapters where she has been an elected officer or board member for over 20 years. She is currently president of the MOAA Memphis Chapter. She is a past secretary and current president of Military Women Across the Nation (MWAN) Memphis Belles Unit 151 and past volunteer hours coordinator for MWAN National. She is a past chairman and current member of the board of directors of the Tipton County Veterans Council. She is a member of the board of directors of For Those Who Served, and a non-voting board member of the Memphis Fisher House Resource Team. In coordination with the Tipton County Veterans Service Office and The Munford Cafe, Kathy delivers hot meals one day a week to Veterans and widows/widowers of Veterans. She was the STC CoC Volunteer of the Year in 2012. In 2019, she was named an “Awesome Women” in Tipton County, an honor given local women who have gone above and beyond. That same year she was selected as the Volunteer of the Year for the Tennessee Chambers of Commerce. In 2020 she was one of the four finalists for the Mid-South Woman of the Year, part of the nationwide Remarkable Woman initiative to honor influential women. In 2022 she was chosen by the Covington-Tipton Chamber of Commerce as their Volunteer of the Year. In April 2023, Kathy was selected as one of two female Volunteers of the Year for 2022 for the Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) in Memphis where she has over 4,000 volunteer hours and serves in various capacities.
In coordination with the Tipton County Veterans Service Office and The Munford Cafe, Kathy delivers hot meals once a week to Veterans and widows/widowers of Veterans. She has also volunteered with Repairs for Prayers projects coordinated by a former Tipton County Veterans Service Officer in conjunction with the Home Depot Foundation and Munford Restoration Church.
Kathy was nominated for Veteran of the Month by John McBride, the May 2015 Veteran of the Month, and the late Andy Dunavant, the March 2015 Veteran of the Month.