Services for Mrs. Maria Gayle Moody, age 85, of Sand Hill, will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, December 5,2024 at the First Baptist Church of Sand Hill.  Bro. Nick Chatham and Pastor Uriel Pena will officiate the service and interment will follow in the Henderson Cemetery.  Mrs. Moody passed from this life on Friday, November 29, 2024 at her home.

She and her beloved husband, Lynwood, owned and operated Moody's Motel in Gulf Shores for over 20 years.  She was always very active in the community and civic organizations, including the Mardi Gras organizations in the Gulf Shores area, where she once served as queen.  She greatly enjoyed writing and spent years creating a column for "The Islander" newspaper.  She and Lynwood spent many years traveling around the country making wonderful memories exploring.  She was an avid animal lover, especially of her dog Freckles, and a die hard Alabama fan.  She faithfully attended First Baptist Church of Sand Hill as long as her health would allow, and enjoyed the fellowship there.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, Lynwood Moody; her grandson, Tony Moody; her great grandchildren, Alex and Dylan Rodgers; her parents, Charles Sharpe and Jessie Ray Montgomery; and her sisters, Jean Grimstead and Pat Sharpe.

She is survived by her son, Fred (Sandy) Moody of Pensacola; her daughters, Joleen Malcolm and Tarina Macias, both of Pensacola; bonus daughter, Tina Swalley; her grandchildren, Tobias, Mark, Ben, Adam, Tonya, Tosha, Joshua, and Seth; 20 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great grandchildren; her sister, Shirley Connell of Birmingham, AL; her special friends, Efird and June Eubanks; and a host of extended Moody family in Texas.

Visitation for Mrs. Moody will be held from 12:30 until 2:00 p.m. Thursday, also at the First Baptist Church of Sand Hill.