Barbara Balentine Brasington

Barbara’s long and colorful life began when she was born on July 16, 1935, at St. Francis Hospital in downtown Greenville, to Eleanor Zachary and George H. Balentine, Jr.

Barbara graduated from Paris High School in 1953 and attended the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. There, she met Richard W. Johnson, Sr. They married, and while the union was not to last, they had two wonderful sons, Rick and Dan.

Even as a young child, Barbara’s natural talent for playing the piano was apparent, laying the foundation for a lifelong love of music. She gladly shared her extraordinary passion and gift, teaching piano and performing at events throughout the Southeast.

With her second husband, Frank Brasington, Barbara was deeply involved with the piano sales industry, participating in the operation of the Brasington House of Music. Frank and Barbara were closely affiliated with the Baldwin Piano Company, traveling to annual conferences and company events.

Barbara was a longtime South Carolina Crescent Music Club member, receiving the Order of the Crescent in 2020. The Greenville Woman’s Music Club awarded Barbara its highest recognition, Honorary Life Membership. In 2000, the National Federation of Music Clubs honored her for 50 years or more of service in Church Music.

For many years, Barbara was the official organist at the United States Marshals Service Training Academy in Brunswick, GA, and was honored with a Certificate of Appreciation by the US Department of Justice.

Her family will cherish the memories of Barbara playing the piano at celebrations and gatherings, especially at Christmas, when everyone came together around her piano to sing Carols and celebrate her favorite holiday season.

Barbara’s interests and joys were many and varied: all things Christmas and home decorating (actually for all the holidays); spending time with her family in beautiful Lake Toxaway, NC; playing golf and bridge with her friends on Jekyll Island; leading the Greenville Civitan Club’s Candy Box Project; lunching at the Poinsett Club, including with the late SC arts legend, Virginia Uldrick. She loved to travel and fulfilled her lifelong dreams of visiting Israel and Alaska.

But perhaps the essence of Barbara’s heart, especially in her later years, was her strong Christian faith and her gifts of hospitality and caregiving, meaningfully impacting dozens of people in her community.

Barbara was a member of First Presbyterian Greenville, where she founded a Caregivers Support Group and was a Stephen Minister. She was always an excellent hostess and loved entertaining people in her home.

Barbara is survived by her two sons, Richard W. Johnson, Jr. (Connie) of Taylors, SC and Daniel K. Johnson (Kay) of Lake Toxaway, NC; three grandchildren, Zachary Johnson (Kyrsten), Katherine Johnson, and Campbell Johnson; great-grandson Slate Johnson; stepdaughters Rhonda Kropp and Gail Flexer and their families; sister Nancy Whitehurst (Tom); and several nieces, nephews, and cousins. She was preceded in death by her husband, C. Frank Brasington and her sister, Ann B. LeGrand.

Barbara was a force, strong-willed, and independent until her last days. As Frank Sinatra sang, Barbara did things “her way.” Upon hearing of her passing, a neighbor who had repeatedly offered Barbara help, which she politely declined, said, “She was big-hearted and hard-headed!”

Her grand piano may now be silent, but Barbara Brasington, with her big heart (and hard head), beautiful music, and unwavering faith in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will live on in our memories forever.

Barbara was laid to rest privately in Woodlawn Memorial Park.