Leisa Zoller

Leisa Tomlinson Zoller was born on September 30, 1949 in Thomasville, Georgia. She died peacefully in the early morning hours of March 20, 2024, also in Thomasville, Georgia, after a nearly two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. Before her passing, Leisa let her loved ones know that she had lived a meaningful life and felt very lucky to have found so much love and kinship in her community, family, and friends.
Leisa knew from a young age that she wanted to be a wife and mother, first and foremost. She is survived by her husband, Jeffrey William Zoller, and her two daughters and sons-in-law, Laura and JT Rieck, and Kari Zoller and Zack Burgess. Leisa found such joy and fulfillment in not only parenting, but also in grandparenting. She loved playing games, baking biscuits, and doing creative projects with her four grandchildren, Bryce Rieck, Georgia Rieck, Béla Burgess, and Scarlett Burgess.
Leisa grew up in Southwestern Thomas County, Georgia, on the Bar M Ranch. She was the devoted and loving daughter of Harry E. and Corrie Mires Tomlinson, who both preceded her in death. Leisa maintained close relationships with her four surviving siblings, Harry M. Tomlinson, Carl Tomlinson, Ashley Jones, and Dorian Blackmon. When Leisa was 12 years old, she moved to Thomasville with her family. After graduating from the University of Georgia in 1971, she met Jeff while working at C&S Bank in Atlanta. Leisa and Jeff moved to Winchester, Virginia, in 1988, where they raised their family. In 2009, after their daughters were grown, Leisa and Jeff moved to Thomasville, into the very home where Leisa spent her adolescence, because they wanted to be closer to family.
Leisa spent the remaining 15 years of her life doing what she enjoyed: spending time with family, friends, and her church community, playing tennis and bridge, cooking, baking, sewing, and gardening. Leisa was an incredibly determined person, unusually competent, smart, and wildly creative. She was an intensely loyal and supportive daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother and her optimism and cheerfulness shined brightly on those she met. She will be missed.
The funeral service will be held at 2pm on Monday, March 25, 2024 at Trinity Anglican Church. Following the church service, there will be a celebration of Leisa’s life at 3pm at The Garden Center.
In lieu of customary remembrances, contributions in Leisa’s memory may be directed to The Archbold Foundation ( www.archbold.org ) for the benefit of Lewis Hall Singletary Archbold Cancer Center or to Trinity Anglican Church-Mission Programs (325 W. Jackson St., Thomasville, GA 31792). It is also important to note that Leisa’s family is eternally grateful for the kindness and medical care of Dr. Esther Tan throughout this process.