Emily Jane Britton
Graveside service for Emily Jane Britton, 74, of Opelika was held at 11 a.m. Oct. 29 at Providence Baptist Church Cemetery. Dr. Rusty Sowell officiated.
Visitation was 10 at Providence Baptist Church one hour prior to the service.
Mrs. Britton passed away Oct. 26 at Bethany House. She was born Aug. 26, 1940 in Lee County.
She was preceded in death by father John D Thompson, mother Thelma Jenkins Thompson, brother Bobby Thompson, and sister Bea Thompson. Mrs. Britton is survived by her husband of 55 years Roy Britton, sons Chuck (Wanda) and Mike (Cherie). She is also survived by six granddaughters, eight great-grandchildren, five brothers and one sister. The family asks in lieu of flowers please make a donation to the Providence Baptist Church building fund.
Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home directed.
www.jeffcoattrant.com
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Sarah Jo B Farnell
Sarah Jo B Farnell, a native Mobilian and resident of Auburn passed away Oct. 26 at the age of 66.
The daughter of Joseph Roy Bancroft and Sarah Alma Wentworth, Sarah Jo was an intellectual who never lost her sense of curiosity about the world around her. She reveled in nature’s beauty witnessed in the Great Smoky Mountains and fed her journalistic appetite with every day’s news cycle. She loved all animals great and small; possessing a gift for nursing sick pets back to health. She looked forward to watching the Auburn Tigers on Saturday and cheering for Jeff Gordon on Sunday. Sarah Jo was a fun-loving woman who found humor in every situation; reminding us with her made-up words, infectious laugh, and thoughtful observations to not take ourselves or the world around us too seriously.
A 1965 graduate of Murphy High School, Sarah Jo went on to attend Judson College, Mobile College and Samford University. She graduated with a double major in english and journalism, finishing in under four years. In her professional life, she worked as managing editor for the Tuskegee News, a reporter for the Foley Onlooker and The Mobile Press Register. Her fearless and trailblazing mentality lead to an award winning career as the first female radio news reporter for WKRG. In the late ‘70s she left the professional arena to start a family with her husband, Emmett.
Sarah Jo relished her role as a mother and threw herself 100 percent into raising her two sons, John and Stephen. She always passionately defended her decision to become a homemaker and never regretted it. She was ever-present at her children’s schools, especially Leinkauf Elementary. Countless hours were spent serving as a room-mother, field trip chaperone, cub scout den-mother and as an unpaid teachers aide. Throughout her life she was involved at West End, Farmville, Dauphin Way, and Cottage Hill Baptist Churches where she was heavily involved in Vacation Bible School, Bible Drill, Mission Friends and teaching Sunday School.
The hijinks she shared with her life-long friend Patsy as well as the strong sense of security she felt from her older brother Terry remained on her mind even as her health declined. Through her, a deep love for animals was instilled in her two boys as well as a strong sense of empathy and compassion for others.
Sarah Jo is survived by her husband, Herman Emmett, sons John Bancroft and Stephen Madison, brother Joseph Terry Bancroft (Linda), and her feline companion Girlie. Visitation was held at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral home on Oct. 30 and there will be a graveside service at Pine Crest Cemetery in Mobile Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
Flowers will be accepted or memorial donations may be made to the Lee County Humane Society. She is greatly loved and will be woefully missed.
Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home directed.
www.jeffcoattrant.com