Judith "Judy" Brown Barnes

Judith Brown Barnes “Judy” was born to Joseph and Eula Mae Brown on March 21, 1935, in Birmingham, Alabama. She peacefully passed into her Savior’s arms on February 26, 2024, in Columbia, South Carolina, at the age of 88, just 108 days after her husband of 67 years passed.

Judy loved the Lord with all her heart, soul, mind and strength. She dedicated her life to serving the Lord through working alongside her husband as they ministered to congregations in Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. She accompanied choirs, ensembles and soloists on the piano for decades. She consistently encouraged young people and provided a role model for a Christian marriage. She developed deep relationships with other women as they studied and prayed.

Judy taught private piano lessons her entire adult life, her career culminating in the Samford University Prep Department, where her students were her pride and joy.

After the Lord and her husband, her greatest love was her family.

To her four sisters and two brothers, she was the spirited prankster, the occasional tormenter and always ringleader of fun—dancing in the yard, freestyling piano duets, and teasing her dad endlessly.

To her three children, she was a role model, chief encourager, confidant and prayer warrior.

To her grandchildren, she was Mema, the one who instilled a love of music, made cookies, attended their events, and poured her heart into them.

To her many nieces and nephews, she was Aunt Judy, the one who called them darling, always with genuine warmth.

Judy grew up in the Crestwood section of Birmingham, where her father built houses and her mother kept the books and maintained the home. Judy was the firstborn, and as a child, overcame polio. She was educated in Birmingham public schools and graduated in 1956 from Howard College now known as Samford University. She graduated from Howard earning her B. Mu. (piano performance). She was a member of Hypatia, an academic honor society, and Mu Alpha Chi Music Honor Society, as well as the A Cappella Choir. She met her future husband in ninth grade when he, the president of his high school student body, spoke to the student council of her high school where she served. They were re-introduced by Bob’s sister, Patricia Gillespie, while Judy was in college, and the two became inseparable best friends for life.

Judy is survived by her son, Robert Bryan Barnes (Janet); daughters, Jennifer B. Johnson and Janet B. Shealy (Warren); and grandchildren, Robert Bryan Barnes, Jr. (Danyelle), Carson Edward Barnes (Emily), Jennifer Elizabeth Barnes, Jacob Stephen Johnson and Lily Mae Lois Johnson; and great-granddaughter, Reagan Jane Barnes. She is also survived by her brothers and sisters Janet B. Bassett (Paul), Linda Brown Jerger, Laurie Brown, Gayle B. Smith (Tom), Joseph Morris Brown, Jr. (Susie), and Richard Claude Brown (Gerry), and Bob’s sister, Mrs. Patricia Gillespie, as well as many nieces and nephews and other members of her extended family. Judy was preceded in death by, her father, Joseph Morris Brown, mother, Eula Mae Brown, and her husband, Robert Carson Barnes, Jr.

The family will receive friends Friday 4:30 to 6:30 March 1, 2024, at Dunbar Funeral Home located at 7600 Woodrow St. Irmo, SC. In Birmingham, AL, there will be another visitation at 1:00 p.m. March 4, 2024, at Fullness Christian Fellowship, 2575 Columbiana Road, in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. The funeral will follow at 2:00 p.m. Her body will be laid to rest in Elmwood Cemetery in Birmingham, Alabama, after the funeral service. All are welcome.

During her last few years in Columbia, she was a member of First Baptist Church, Columbia, SC. Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church Columbia to support the work of reaching people for Christ.

Judy’s spirit will forever live on in the hearts of those who knew her and in the talents of those she taught and helped inspire.