Phyllis Ann Boatner Kandul passed away peacefully on March 31, 2026 in Marietta, Georgia.

Phyllis lived a life that was anything but ordinary. A proud 1959 graduate of Marietta High School, Phyllis was a Girl Scout, a cheerleader, and a majorette — throughout her life, that spirit never left her. She went on to attend Wesleyan Women’s College in Georgia, and years later, while working multiple jobs and raising three children, she went back to finish what she started, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Evansville with a degree in Psychology. That was Phyllis, always rising to the challenge.

Her career path was as colorful as her personality. She worked at the Veterans Administration Hospital, juggling three or four jobs at once while attending night and weekend classes. In doing so, she became the first graduate of the Southeastern Conference for Photographic Arts in Atlanta — a distinction that launched a remarkable second chapter. With her camera always within reach and a story in every frame, she built a freelance photography career that eventually led her to one of her proudest achievements: becoming Governor Joe Frank Harris’s personal photographer, with her own office and darkroom right inside the Capitol Building. If you ever had your photo taken with Governor Harris and you happen to be reading this, there’s a very good chance it was Phyllis behind the lens.

She later opened her own photography studio in Vinings Jubilee, where she was beloved for her candid-style wedding photography. Phyllis had a gift for capturing the moments that mattered most, the special moments people didn’t even know were happening.

But photography was only one thread in a very rich life. Phyllis was an avid walker, and ran the Peachtree Road Race approximately 25 times consecutively. She was a sailor, a hiker, a scuba diver in Aruba, and she once danced her way through a cruise in Alaska. She was a great dancer — Ballroom, Tango, Cajun, Zydeco, Salsa, West Coast Swing, and Disco. She shone on every dance floor she ever stepped onto. She loved the ocean, the outdoors, different cultures, and learning new languages. She loved people, and she was genuinely curious about every single one of them.

Her dogs, Sam and Eloise, two goldendoodles she was among the first in Marietta to own, were her constant companions. On any given weekend you could find her out on a group walk, her dogs hanging out the window of her convertible, Phyllis grinning behind the wheel.

She was a woman who loved adventures and loved showing up. She did both, until the very end. Phyllis is survived by her sisters, Gail and Connie; her three beloved children, Thomas, Leslie, and Charlie; her eight grandchildren; and her great-grandson. She will be laid to rest beside her parents in the cemetery off Polk Street, at a celebration of life to be held on June 6th, 2026.

“Loved adventures. Loved showing up.”

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