Eula Mae Wood Brannon was born in Topaz, Missouri on August 27, 1925 to the late William Joel and Ida Mae Wood. She passed away on March 14, 2018 in Columbia, Tennessee.

Eula’s life experience was as colorful as one of beautiful quilts she loved to make. She could remember a portion of a wagon & ox journey her family made in the late 1920s to the White River region of Arkansas, Her story centered around a doll named “Bob-Bob” whose face was getting speckled by rain dripping from the canvas top. She was terrified that “Bob-Bob” had measles.

She was the only girl in a family of 6 children. She was quick to tell anyone “You are not going to tell me anything about men: I had five brothers.”

She married Dolpha W. Brannon on December 19, 1945. She and Dolpha bought a farm in Dermott, Arkansas; cut timber; set up a sawmill that ran from the fly wheel of a model B John Deere and sawed the logs into lumber to build their house and barns. Land was cleared during the winters for growing cotton, soybeans, corn, and a few cattle. Summers were typically 110 degrees in the shade. There was no such thing as air conditioning to cool you or television for entertainment. She kept cool and entertained by swimming, floating, diving, and playing in the bayou that surrounded their property. She was an extraordinary swimmer and could perform beautiful dives off the banks or tree limbs (very much like an otter).

She has been witness to the most wonderful events and inventions spanning 92 years. From travel by oxen and mule to automobiles, trains, airplanes, telephone, internet, television, Apollo, Man landing on the moon, Space Shuttle, and watched the International Space Station go over in the night sky.

Eula was a fabulous cook. She could come up with something to feed a crowd of people from nothing but flour, lard, and sugar. It got even better is something were in season such as blackberries and wild plums for pies and cobblers. Having a gas or electric stove was not necessary. She could do all this on a wood stove during winter or summer. Bottled soft drinks were a rare delicacy, but she knew that washed out Coke bottles filled with Kool-Aid were just as exciting as the real thing to any kid.

Throughout such a remarkable life with a unique set of obstacles, she remained kind, saw only the good in everyone, and never listened to the negatives on anyone. A life lesson to all of us whom remain.

Survivors include her brother, Henry Wood; daughter, Martha Cash and her husband, Donald; granddaughter, Charlotte Most and her husband, Ken; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Dolpha, and four brothers, Allen, Herbert, Earl, and Albert Wood.

Funeral service for Mrs. Eula Mae Wood Brannon, age 92, of Kelso, TN will be conducted at 11:00 AM on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at Higgins Funeral Home with Bro. David Miller officiating. Burial will follow in Higgins Cedar Hills Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be held at 5:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Friday, March 16, 2018 at Higgins Funeral Home.