Barbara Jean Brandon Chambers went home to the Lord on August 19, 2024. She passed peacefully in her home after a long illness. She was born on November 8, 1940 in Arkabutla, MS to Roy Eugene and Francis Annie Brandon.
Barbara and Richard Chambers met very early in life and dated throughout high school. Barbara graduated from Southside High School in Memphis, TN in 1958. She married Richard, the man God had chosen for her at such a young age, on June 3, 1958. She and Richard were married for 64 years until his death in 2022.
Barbara was a member of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis, TN (now located in Horn Lake, MS) in her early years. She and Richard taught Sunday school and ministered to many children and young adults. She was teacher/mentor to young people at Bethel Baptist and the JOY adult ladies Sunday School class. Some of the young people have remained close to her all these years. While at Bethel Baptist, she was voted “Mother of the Year” in 1975. She was the typing/shorthand teacher as well as school secretary at Bethel Baptist Schools. She had a servant’s heart.
Barbara and Richard were active members of Gracewood Baptist Church in Southaven, MS. She was a Sunday School teacher in the adult ladies JOY class and was active in the Women’s Missionary Union. She was a spiritual mentor to many women, being firmly grounded in Biblical precepts. She was the consummate Proverbs 31 woman.
Barbara was an Administrative Assistant for most of her career. She was an active member and leader in Professional Secretaries International, advancing her career through lifelong training. PSI changed its name to International Association of Administrative Professionals in 1982, and Barbara excelled in teaching, training, and leading other administrative professionals. Barbara was named Secretary of the Year of the Memphis Chapter of IAAP in 1986. She was President of the Memphis Chapter 1992-1993. She led in chartering the Hernando DeSoto Chapter in Southaven, MS in 2004. She served in the HDS Chapter as Director, Vice President, and President.
Barbara was predeceased by her parents, Roy and Annie Brandon, her husband Richard Ladelle Chambers, Sr., her sister Yvonne Harrison, and a niece, Cyndee Whitson. Barbara is survived by a daughter, Rhonda Yeoman (Jeff Ballentine), a son, Richard (Rick) L. Chambers, Jr. (Kelly), her grandchildren, Amber Dell Taylor (Micheal) and Brandon LaDelle Ross, and Amber’s mother, Carrie Dell Chambers. Barbara was known as Aunt B to her surviving nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be sent to Gracewood Baptist Church in Southaven, MS for the bus fund to remember and honor Barbara, or to Know the Truth Prison Ministry (a 501 C3 ministry), P.O. Box 624 in Greenbriar, AR 72058.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, August 24, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Gracewood Baptist Church, 8551 Getwell Rd, Southaven, MS 38672. A funeral service will follow at 11 am, burial will be in Memorial Gardens, 3700 N. Germantown Road, Bartlett, Tennessee 38133.
