Mrs. Betty Mikell Brannen

Betty Mikell Brannen was born on February 21st, 1930 to Thomas Jesse Mikell and Minnie (Hart) Mikell of Statesboro, Georgia. She was the first born of three daughters, followed by Helen Jackie (Oct 1935) and Mariben (Dec 1940).

Betty’s faith was important to her throughout her life. She professed faith in Christ during her teenage years and always enjoyed reading the Bible, the preaching of God’s Word, and singing of the great traditional hymns. Her faith in God shaped her worldview. She was also shaped by the experiences of growing up during the great depression and the deprivations of the WW2 years.

According to her sister, Helen Jackie, Betty set a good example for her sisters to follow. Betty was a good student in school, graduating with Honors from Statesboro High School. She was a majorette in the band and enjoyed playing piano at her church. Betty graduated from Georgia Teacher’s College in 1952 (Georgia Southern University today) with a major in PE, which always amused her children!

But Betty’s true dream was always to be a wife and mother. She married Talmadge Edwin (Ed) Brannen, also of Statesboro and a Class of 52 graduate of Georgia Teacher’s College, on Christmas day 1952.

They had been good friends in high school and reconnected earlier that year at their 5-year HS reunion, kindling their romance. Betty and Ed had 5 children, 3 sons and 2 daughters, thus fulfilling her dream of becoming a wife and mother.

Betty and Ed’s marriage and his career brought many moves over the years from Statesboro to Orlando FL, back to Statesboro (couple different times), Ft. Lauderdale FL, the Atlanta GA area (couple times), Jacksonville FL, Overland Park KS, and finally to the Dallas-Ft Worth area of Texas, which they both grew to love, and where Ed retired from a satisfying pharmaceutical sales career with Proctor & Gamble.

A couple of years after the death of her beloved husband Ed in 2000, Betty moved back to Georgia, settling into the Canton area north of Atlanta. She built a rich, full life there with sons Tom and David and their families nearby, and built new friendships. She was blessed even more when her youngest son, Bob, and his family moved there from Kansas City.

Her 2 daughters, Connie and Beth, who both married Texans, continued to live in Texas, giving her a good excuse to visit. She travelled back to Texas, with her oldest son Tom, several times to visit her daughters and their families, see old friends, and to enjoy seeing the Bluebonnets she loved, that bloom in the Texas Hill country in Springtime. She also travelled regularly with Tom to Statesboro to visit her sisters and extended family. Mom always enjoyed the family gatherings in the homes of her sons in Georgia, especially those over the Thanksgiving and Christmas seasons. She absolutely loved the beach, and the annual Brannen family reunion beach trips to Orange Beach, AL or Perdido Key, FL were a highlight of her year.

Alzheimer’s hindered Betty from living independently in the last few years so she lived with Tom and Kristi until April of 2022 when she entered memory care at Brickmont Assisted Living. She died peacefully on Monday, afternoon, September 5th, 2022 at the grand age of 92.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, in-laws, her husband Ed, youngest sister Mariben Thompson, and her 3 brothers-in-law, Billy Tillman, Jim Yates, and Jim Thompson. She is survived by her five children and their spouses: Tom (Kristi) Brannen, Connie (Craig) Weeks, David (Ann) Brannen, Bob (Tanyau) Brannen, and Beth (Jay) Everett, 13 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren, her sister Jackie Mikell Yates, sister-in-law Mary Lee Brannen Tillman, and several nieces and nephews.

Mom (Betty) will be buried alongside her beloved Ed in the Veteran’s section of Bluebonnet Hills Memorial Park in Colleyville, TX on Friday, September 16th at 2:30 pm. A Memorial Service for Betty will follow on Oct 9th at 3pm in Woodstock, GA at The King’s Academy, 417 Arnold Mill Road in the Cantrell Performing Arts building.

In lieu of flowers, a donation in Betty’s memory to one of these charities is appreciated by the family - Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, the WSS Foundation (Wiedemann-Steiner Syndrom), Reaching & Teaching International Ministries, or Samaritan’s Purse

https://curealz.org/

http://www.wssfoundation.org/

https://rtim.org/

https://www.samaritanspurse.org/

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.bluebonnethills.com for the Brannen family.