Obituary of Thelma Lorene Braswell

Funeral services for Thelma Lorene Braswell, age 96, of Wedowee, will be held on Wednesday, October 26, 2016, at 1:00 PM at Corinth Baptist Church with Rev. Anthony Caldwell and Rev. Braden Morrison officiating. Burial will follow in the adjoining cemetery with Benefield Funeral Home of Wedowee in charge of arrangements. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5:00-7:00 PM on Tuesday, October 25, 2016. Miss Braswell passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 23, 2016. She was born August 9th, 1920. She was the oldest of the five children of Grady H. Braswell, Sr, and Ethel Landers Braswell. Considered by her many nieces and nephews and their spouses and children as the matriarch of the family, she will be greatly missed by those of us left behind. We rejoice at the thought of the beautiful reunion she is experiencing in Heaven. It was a part of Thelma’s nature to care for and nurture others. She was always one whom her siblings could turn to, even as they grew into adulthood and had families of their own. Thelma was a caregiver to her parents. She saw to their needs with excellence until they met Jesus face to face. Hardships were not obstacles to her, she was resilient. Growing up during the Great Depression, she developed both perseverance and determination. One of her brothers loved to share how she left for college with less than one dollar in her pocket. She graduated from what is now Jacksonville State University and later earned a Master’s Degree from Auburn University. Her teaching career spanned 51 years, touching the lives of many in Randolph County. She finished her career as Title One Coordinator in the Randolph County Superintendent’s Office. After retirement, she began to travel. She loved visiting her family as they spread out across the various states. She also traveled to Canada and Israel. Thelma shared with her family that the trip to Israel made the Bible more alive to her than ever before. Thelma was a faithful member and supporter of Corinth Baptist Church. It was truly her home church. She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters, Mary Frances Cobb and Ethel Landers Morrison; and two brothers, Grady Hamilton Braswell, Jr., and William Idus (Bill) Braswell.