Frankie Brundage King 1937-2012
The family of the late Mrs. Frankie Brundage King received family and friends to share in “A Celebration of Life – Reflections” at 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, at White Street Missionary Baptist Church.
King, 75, of Auburn, passed on Sunday at her home. Graveside services were held at 12 p.m. on Aug. 8, at Memorial Park Cemetery. Pastor Jamal Oliver officiated.
She was a member of White Street Missionary Baptist Church where she served as Church Trustee, as a member of the Willing Workers, the Matron Society and the Usher Board. She served for 46 years with Alabama Council on Human Relations (Family Resources/Community Services Block Grant Coordinator). King was a strong advocate for children and testified before Congress during the 1980’s. She was affiliated with the National Head Start Staff Association, the Community Action Agency (CAA) Association, the North Auburn Housing Board, a former member of the City of Auburn Zoning Board and was the first black candidate to run for an Auburn City Council seat.
Her husband, Mr. Willie Lee King, preceded her in death.
Survivors include her seven children, James (Kathy) Richardson, Tuskegee, Willie (Marjorie) King, Acworth, Ga., Mark Anthony (Carol) King and Stanley King both of Atlanta, Timothy King, Auburn, Stephen (Joan) King, Washington, D.C. and Bettye (Lorenza) King-Dorsey, Auburn; 23 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren; one brother, Ronnie C. Brundage, Auburn; one sister, Patricia Jordan, Auburn; a devoted niece and caregiver, Odessa Berry, Auburn; a host of nieces, nephews, other family members and friends.
Flowers will be accepted or the family suggests memorial contributions may be directed to the Alzheimer’s Research.
George Echols
1942-2012
A funeral service for George Echols, 70, of Auburn will be held at 1 p.m. today, Aug. 10, at Auburn A.M.E. Zion Church with interment in Pine Level Cemetery. Pastor Stephen Faulk will officiate.
Echols passed on Aug. 2, 2012 at his home. He was a member of Mt. Pelia Baptist Church and Milton W. Howze Masonic Lodge #408. Echols retired from Spencer Lumber Company and South Trust Bank.
A family hour will be held today at 6 p.m.
His remains will lie in state at the church one hour prior to the service.
Survivors include his wife, Princella Echols, Auburn; five children, Annette (Johnnie) Cobb and Lenora (Calvin) Finley both of Auburn, Ernest Echols, Atlanta, Randy (Evette) Echols, Tuscaloosa and Helen (Lenard) Beaton, Opelika; 11 grandchildren and one great grandchild; five sisters, Carrie Webb, Camp Hill, Mozell Warren, Orlando, Fla., Lillian (Rev. James) Crabb and Dell Turk both of Loachapoka and Josephine (Lewis) Stinson, Albany, Ga.; two brothers, Arthur Lee (Ida Pearl) Echols, Auburn and James Echols of Champaign, Ill.; brothers-in-law, Arthur Stroud, Champaign, Ill. and Otis Dowdell, Auburn; sisters-in-law, Ethel Echols, Notasulga and Gladys Dumas, Auburn; several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends.
Peterson and Williams Funeral Home directed.
Edward Zimnicki 1934-2012
Zimnicki, Edward, age 78, was a proud member of the Auburn community for over 33 years. He passed away peacefully on the evening of Aug. 2, at the Oak Park Nursing Home.
Ed was born in Subina, Poland, and as a young man apprenticed in Mannheim, Germany in the art of woodworking before reaching his goal of Master Craftsman. He immigrated to the United States with his mother and sister in 1951 to escape the escalating turmoil of WWII. Ed found employment in Chicago in 1954 at the Leonard Peterson Company and was quickly promoted to foreman at the young age of 18.
Years later, in 1979, he relocated as Vice President of Manufacturing with the Leonard Peterson Company to open a new manufacturing facility in Auburn, where he worked until his retirement in the year 2000. Ed also served as an auxiliary Police Officer for the town of Riverside while living in Illinois, and as a Deacon in his church for many years.
Those of us who knew him well will remember his love for Florida, especially Siesta Key, as well as traveling, boating, fishing, great food and most of all, his family and close friends. Ed was the beloved husband of Joyce Zimnicki for 33 years; loving father of Carolyn Kennedy, Steven and Bill May (and wife Turna); proud grandfather of Hannah, Daniel and Zachary Dunlap; dearest brother of Christine Dybowski; fond uncle to many nieces and nephews and a special friend and mentor to many.
A visitation will be held today, Aug. 10, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home.
A Celebration of Life will take place the following afternoon, on Aug. 11 at 1:30 p.m. at the Auburn United Methodist Church with Dr. George Mathison officiating.
www.jeffcoattrant.com
Howard Francis Tucker 1920-2012
Funeral services for Howard Francis Tucker, age 92, of Auburn, were held on Aug. 9, at 11:30 a.m. at Auburn First Baptist Church. Burial was in Auburn Memorial Park Cemetery. The Reverend Dale Peterson is officiated. Visitation was immediately preceding the services on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at Auburn First Baptist Church.
Originally from Logan, Cullman County, Dr. Tucker was an Auburn resident for 64 years, having moved to Auburn in 1948 with his wife, the late Inez Jones Tucker, to finish their education at Auburn University (then Alabama Polytechnic Institute).
Earlier, he had served in the Army Air Corps during and after World War II. Dr. Tucker devoted his life’s work to Auburn University. He received his B.S. and masters degrees at Auburn, then became the first candidate to complete Ph.D. work at Auburn and with, four others, was in the first class awarded Ph.D.’s at the university. He served the university as an assistant, then associate professor in the Auburn Animal Sciences Department, School of Agriculture, until his retirement in the early 1980’s.
He also practiced what he taught, operating a swine farm with his partner and fellow Ph.D. class member, Herman Alexander, for many years. Inez, his wife, was also well known to the Auburn family as the long time head dietitian and manager of the War Eagle Cafeteria in the Auburn University Union Building, where Dr. Tucker could usually be found with the whole family Sunday after church enjoying her Maryland Turkey.
Dr. Tucker is survived by daughter, Anita Tucker Smith, son James H. Tucker and wife, Karen, daughter Beverly Tucker Beitzel and husband, Vernon,daughter Kaki Tucker Barto and husband, Doug, sister Mary Jo Tucker Kennedy and sisters-in-law Maxine Tucker (widow of Elwin, Dr. Tucker’s brother), Nell Jones Watts and Doris Jones (Inez’s sisters), and Jean Reaves (widow of brother-in-law Sam Jones, Inez’s brother). Dr. Tucker is also survived by his much-loved grandchildren, Rae Hunter, Leigh Hunter, Allen Hunter, Jr., Kimberly Hooper and husband, Brian, Jillian Tucker, Kristy Appleton and husband, Darin, and Ross Beitzel, and great-grandchildren, Tripp Hunter, Zach Hunter, and Langley Hooper. Dr. Tucker’s sister, Eulala Tucker Kaylor, and brother, Elwin Tucker, predeceased him.
The family suggests memorial contributions to a church or charity of choice rather than flowers.
Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home & Crematory is directing.
Sara Anderson Hudson 1922-2012
Sara Hudson, 89, died peacefully on July 30, 2012, at the Bethany House in Auburn.
Sara (“Bibba”) was born on Aug. 13, 1922, at Schofield Barracks, Territory of Hawaii, where her father B. Conn Anderson was stationed. The family moved to Auburn in 1925, when Captain (later Colonel) Anderson was assigned to ROTC duty.
Sara recalled those times: “I remember walking barefoot on dirt roads, chasing a mule-drawn ice wagon for chunks of ice on hot summer days, and climbing Chinaberry trees.” Even then, Toomer’s Corner was a fixture in her childhood memories.
The Andersons left Auburn in 1930, and it was more than two decades before Sara returned as an instructor in the API (now Auburn University) English department. During this time, Sara had received a BA degree from the University of North Carolina, marrying poet Hayden Carruth on the day of their graduation from Chapel Hill. He went into the Army and to Italy. She moved to New York to live with the Carruth family and work for a Wall Street firm.
Feeling the need to do more for the war effort, Sara joined the WACS as a medical technician. She and her husband were honorably discharged at war’s end and went to Chicago to pursue graduate degrees under the GI Bill. Sara received an MA from the University of Chicago.
Sara returned to Auburn in 1952, with her infant, Martha, following a divorce, and soon was invited to join the English faculty. She was one of only a few women instructors at the time, forging a long career of “firsts” for Sara as a woman in traditionally male venues. She was not daunted then, nor ever in her life, by the strings of convention.
Sara took a leave of absence to complete her Ph.D. at the University of Chicago, and again returned to Auburn as an associate professor of English. In 1961, she married Fred Hudson in the Civil Engineering Department, her friend and life love until Fred’s death in April 2011. They had a daughter, Elizabeth.
Sara, or Dr. Hudson, enjoyed a reputation as a fiercely focused, brilliant, and demanding instructor who asked nothing less than excellence from her students. Although many students recalled her has the “toughest” professor they ever had, many also have said that she was a significant influence in their approach to learning, and even to their eventual career paths. Sara retained close friendships for the rest of her life with several former students whom she taught and mentored.
Sara became increasingly interested in faculty governance and in securing more equitable treatment for faculty women. She was elected president of the Faculty Senate in 1980, the second woman to serve in this capacity. In keeping with character, she was fearless in her efforts to preserve the integrity and financial security of the Liberal Arts departments as the bedrock of education and research—often opposing the interests of powerful entities on the Board and executive committee. Throughout her life, Sara always stood up for what she considered to be just and right, and was deeply respected by her colleagues and friends for this tireless work.
Sara retired from teaching in 1985 and was awarded Professor Emerita status and the highest commendation for her service by the Alabama Senate. In 1986, she accepted the position of Acting Associate Dean of Liberal Arts. She never stopped teaching, researching, and learning. For many years she was both teacher and student with Auburn’s Life Long Learning program. In 1996, she co-authored a historical biography, “Belle of the Fifties.”
Sara will be remembered for her keen mind, curiosity, drive for perfection, and sparkling wit. She was a political tiger, and, as a Yellow Dog Democrat, adored debating with friends from all political persuasions. She was outgoing, loved hosting parties with Fred, attending countless art, music, and literary events, and, above all, loved her friends.
Finally, and importantly, Sara gave far more than she took. She was known in the community for her devotion to those in need, whether through poverty, infirmity, mental illness or old age. She provided physical nourishment and emotional support, and loved listening to the many voices and stories from her visits. She served on the board of the Presbyterian Ministries on behalf of the poor. She carried in her bones a powerful sense of duty, compassion, and social justice for all- and in particular, the least of us.
Sara embraced life through all of its happiness and heartaches. Her first daughter, Martha, died of cancer in 1997, a great time of sadness. But her grandchildren from daughters Martha and Elizabeth provided her with a joy which, per Sara, “has no words.” This well could describe the person of Sara Hudson. Words alone cannot sufficiently encompass this remarkable woman.
Sara is survived by daughter Elizabeth Hudson, brother B. Conn Anderson, grandchildren Britton Herbert, Hayden Ward, Robin Ward, Henry Goff and Alice Goff; and great-grandchildren Lily and Isabel Herbert.
A graveside service for Sara was held on Aug. 3 at Pinehill Cemetery, where she is buried with her parents and daughter Martha. In commemoration of Sara, donations will be gratefully accepted at the charity or foundation of choice.
Fredericks Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Lorene Miller Price 1930-2012
Lorene Miller Price, 82, of Auburn, formerly of Columbus, Ga., was born on Jan. 4, 1930, in Coffee County, and went to be with Jesus on Aug. 3, 2012 at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika.
Price was a dedicated mother, grandmother, and was a faithful member of Opelika Church of God. Price co-founded Price’s Barbecue House of Auburn, in 1978 and continued to work there until her retirement. She was a wonderful cook and loved to travel and spend time with her family and friends.
Price was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Jesse Price. She is survived by two sons, Jesse Wayne Price (Betty), Jeffery Dale Price (Bobbie) both of Auburn; three grandsons, David Wayne Price (Michelle) of Wichita, Kan., Jonathan Jesse Price of Atlanta, Michael Bryant Price of Auburn; two granddaughters, Abbie Price Pari (Naren) of Prattville, Emily Price McElroy (Caleb) of Auburn; two great grandsons, Dawson Price of Wichita, Kan., Jayan Pari of Prattville; sister, Kathleen Harrelson of Phenix City; and one brother-in-law, J.T. Price (Janie) of Elba.
A funeral service for Price was held at 2 p.m. on Aug. 6, at Jeffcoat-Trant Chapel. Reverend Charlie Bolt officiated. Burial followed in Garden Hills Cemetery. Visitation was Sunday, from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home.
Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home & Crematory directed.
Martha B. Benson 1921-2012
Martha B. Benson, age 91, of Auburn, was born in Arkansas on July 1, 1921, and passed away on Aug. 5, at Arbor Springs in Opelika. She was a member of Auburn United Methodist Church.
Benson was preceded in death by her husband, Carl F. Benson; and daughter, Katherine Benson Morrison. She is survived by her son, Stephen L. Benson.
Benson was the 2004 recipient of the Alabama Library Association’s Humanitarian Award. During her life, she traveled extensively, including visits to Germany, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, and through her travels, education, and personal pursuits, she cultivated a vast knowledge and deep love of literature, while remaining devoted to her home and family. When Benson’s daughter died, she felt the best memorial to Katherine would be the creation of a trust that would benefit both the adult and youth collections at Auburn Public Library in perpetuity.
Graveside services were held on on Aug. 8, at 11 a.m. at Memorial Park Cemetery in Auburn. Dr. George Mathison officiated.
The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Auburn Public Library for the trust fund established by Mrs. Benson, 749 East Thach Avenue, Auburn, Alabama 36830.
Fredericks Funeral Home directed.