Grady Lee Gunnells, III
Holman-Abbeville Mortuary & CremationsViewed: 2295
Posted by: Holman Mortuaries
[email protected]
334-585-5261
Date: Jul 07 2017 9:53 AM
Grady Lee Gunnells III, age 43, passed away suddenly on July 4, 2017.
He was born January 25, 1974, in Anniston, Alabama to Grady and Lura Gunnells. Grady grew up on the lake near Pell City, Alabama and graduated from Pell City High School in 1992. He played First Chair trumpet in the Panthers High School Band. Grady attended Jacksonville State University where he was a member of the Marching Southerners. He married Courtney Bedsole on August 21, 1999, in Abbeville, Alabama. They have three children - Carter Michael (12), Embree Lee (10), and Anna Catherine (5). Grady treasured time with his family and enjoyed going to the beach, lake and mountains, and being outdoors as much as possible. He loved watching college football and cheered loudly for the Crimson Tide. He spent many nights and weekends watching his boys play football, baseball, basketball, and soccer. He also coached many of their teams. He was the Cub Master for Troop 41 and could frequently be found setting up the Pinewood Derby, camping at Camp Sequoyah or holding weekly Scout meetings. Grady could also be found at Anna Cate’s dance recitals and school programs.
Christmas was a very exciting time for Grady. Right after Thanksgiving he would begin setting up a Christmas light show on his front lawn. In June, he sequenced the lights to music. Opening night always drew a large crowd, and Grady enjoyed having friends and neighbors come watch the show. Cars from throughout the Birmingham area would line the street each night to enjoy the light show. Grady could fix anything and loved woodworking. In fact, he was always working on new projects around the house and yard. Grady was also a weather buff. He was Chelsea’s Weather Watcher for ABC 33/40 for many years.
Grady’s career encompassed computer science and financial institutions. Later, he was affiliated with EMC2. Currently, Grady was Director of Cloud Services at Teklinks in Birmingham, AL.
Grady was preceded in death by his father Grady Lee Gunnells, Jr. and brother Greg Gunnells. Grady is survived by his wife Courtney, and their three children. He is also survived by his parents, Lonnie and Lura Kilgore of Heflin, AL, his sister, Cynthia Leporati (Dan), brother, Ronnie Gunnells of Seattle, WA (LeeAnn), brother-in-law, Ben Bedsole (Angi) of Woodstock, GA, nieces and nephews, Benjamin Bedsole, AnnaBeth Bedsole, Jordan Leporati (Samantha), Courtney Leporati Laymon (Kalen), Brandon Leporati, mother-in-law and father-in-law Ken and Beth Bedsole, Abbeville, AL, aunts and uncles Virginia Holcomb (Hoyt), Huntsville, AL, Martha Smith, Chelsea, AL, Dave and Cathy Gardner, Northport, AL, and many other family members and friends.
Honorary Pallbearers are Ben Bedsole, Dan Leporati, Mark Lambert, Cary Cowart, Jordan Leporati, Brandon Leporati and Boy Scout Troop 41 and Cub Scout Pack 41. A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, July 9 at Asbury United Methodist Church, 6690 Cahaba Valley Road, Birmingham, AL 34242. Visitation will be in the sanctuary at 2:00 p.m., followed by the service at 3:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Boy Scout Troop 41 c/o Morgan United Methodist Church, Bessemer, AL, the Shelby County Humane Society or Asbury United Methodist Church. Grady was an organ donor. We are grateful that he will be able to help over 100 people.
<- back
Rules
1. You may disagree with, but not demean other commenters
2. Do NOT use all caps
3. No unsubstantiated facts
4. NO profanity
5. Stay on topic!
6. All comments are moderated, and approved by the web master
In order to post comments on articles, you must first have an account. Please create an account by clicking the link below, you will then be able to come back to this article to post a comment.
7.jpg "Knights Wrecker")
