Florence M Tidwell

She is pre-deceased in death by husband Donald Blake Tidwell; parents Clayton and Zada McDonald; sister Ardith Wallace; brothers-in-law Hugh Wallace, Rich Wagner, and Phil Kirkpatrick; and grand-daughter Melanie Scogin.

She is survived by sisters Sally Wagner and Cleta Boyer (Don); and by daughters Cynthia Scogin (Mancil) and Jennifer Beck (Dan) and by grandchildren; Corey Scogin (Nateka), Clayton Scogin, Cameron Scogin, Blake Perritt, Gracie Beck, Kaleigh Beck, and Lexi Beck; along with a host of nieces and nephews from Michigan.

She began her employment while co-oping during high school as a teller at the First National Bank in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. In 1955 she married, then moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1958 and was divorced soon after. She began working for the First National Bank downtown and eventually transferred to the Woodlawn Branch as the drive-in teller, where she met Donald Blake Tidwell. They married June 2, 1963 and Don soon adopted Cindy. Their family life was happy, adventurous, and plans were made in 1969 to have a baby and to remodel their home. Florence quit her job at the bank when she became pregnant and remodeling was fully underway. By November Don was diagnosed with cancer and Florence delivered baby Jennifer in January. On June 16, 1970 Don passed away and Florence became a widow at the age of 33 with 2 daughters 6months old and fourteen years old.

She lived a determined life taking on the many challenges of raising her two daughters, finishing her partially remodeled home, all the while managing the upkeep of property and home. She returned to the workforce after Jennifer began elementary school. Florence was well known and well-liked by her customers, co-workers, neighbors, and friends. She retired from the Woodlawn Branch and continued her banking career in a position of loan servicing for Compass Bank until the age of 65.

Her many joys were flower gardens, crocheting gifts of all kinds, mastering the skill of a scroll saw making woodcraft gifts, painting, creating ornaments, sewing stuffed Christmas trees, and making something out of nothing like honey suckle wreaths. She was an impeccable manager of yard and home and she loved all celebrations, especially Christmas. She was an avid reader and supporter of the Reader’s Digest Book Club along with the Publishers’ Clearing House. She was known to say, “If I had won every car I had entered to win, I couldn’t park them all on this property.” She loved the numerous catalogs she received by mail and intently perused them all searching for the cool, the cute, the funny, perfect gift to make us smile. In retirement, she most enjoyed her front porch and her free time. She was known by all in her family as “Gramma Florence the Beautiful”.

Maybe you knew her as Mrs. Tidwell the bank teller, or Mrs. Tidwell the neighbor, or Mrs. Tidwell a worshiper at Pawnee Baptist Church, or maybe as the courteous customer, or the very hard-working lady taking care of her own business, who was strong and vocal and generous.

Today her family began a new season without her and today another elder has left the community of Pawnee. We celebrate that today is her first day of the New Life, in the New Home where she gathers with her family.

Celebration of life services will be held at Ridout’s Gardendale Chapel on Tuesday, October 6, 2020 with a time of visitation to begin at 1:00 pm; service at 2:00 pm, followed by her burial at Blountsville Methodist Cemetery, Blountsville, AL.