Viola May Gilbreath

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 10:00 AM in the chapel of Elliott-Hamil Funeral Home, 5701 Highway 277 S. in Abilene, with David Cason officiating. Interment will follow in Elmwood Memorial Park where she will be laid to rest with her two children. Visitation will be held on Friday evening from 5-7:00 PM, also at the funeral home.

Viola was born on April 22, 1933 in Noble County, Oklahoma to the late Floyd Thomas Harmon and Dottie Love (Sires) Harmon. She grew up in the Panhandle of West Texas in a sharecropping family, where she learned hard work and endurance traits that followed her throughout life. She married Ernest Buckner in 1947, and they settled and raised a family in Plainview. She married Thomas E. Rogers in 1968, and after several moves, the family settled in Abilene in 1970. She later married Richard Donley Gilbreath in 1991, and they lived in Mt. Pleasant, Texas for many years.

Viola worked for M System Grocery Store for many years in the bakery as a cake decorator and eventually manager. She was a great cook, baker, and creative crafter. She always shared the gifts of her kitchen and hands with others. Her children and grandchildren were her world. She loved spending time with them creating special memories. Viola was faithful and devoted to her faith. She was a member of Broadview Baptist Church for many years and active at one time with the Walk to Emmaus.

She was preceded in death by her parents; husband Donley Gilbreath in 1997; her two children Judy Girtz and Ricky Buckner; her daughter-in-law Leda Buckner; step-son Kevin Gilbreath; siblings Haskell, Floyd, Curtis, Buzz, Jim, Agnes, Lucille, and Nellie.

She leaves to cherish precious memories her children Ed Buckner (Linda), David Buckner, Doris Carpenter (Danny), Karen Gardner (George), and Christi Torres (Gilbert); two stepdaughters Shari Wendland (Mike), Mickie Roberson (John); 12 grandchildren; 31 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great-grandchild; host of nieces, nephews, and other relatives; friends; and her little dog, Penny.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her name to Hendrick Hospice, Rescue the Animals, or Broadview Baptist Church.