Barbara Eileen Helms Brasington Speigner

Warren Holloway Ward Funeral Home of Geneva, AL

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Posted by: Warren Holloway Ward FH
[email protected]
334-684-9999
Date: Feb 18 2022 3:22 PM

Mrs. Barbara Eileen Helms Brasington Speigner, aged 96, peacefully left this life in DeFuniak Springs, Florida and entered her eternal home on the morning of Thursday, February 17, 2022. She was born July 29, 1925, the seventh of eight children, to Daniel Jasper Helms and Clara Belle Durden Helms in Holmes County, Florida. She was Eileen to her brothers and sisters, Aunt Eileen to her nieces and nephews, Mama to her three girls, but she was Granny B to all.

Eileen was born into a musical family. One of her fond memories of childhood was after supper her mother and the kids would clear the table and sing four-part harmony on songs – mostly gospel hymns. Her sisters played piano and wrote hymns along with her brothers and Granny B always added her smooth alto or her high tenor to the mix. She and her siblings were often found at weekend and all-night sings; and later – after marriage - if there was one within 50 miles of her, she would show up at area congregational sings between services on Sunday afternoons with her song leader, Pete, in tow. You could count on her requesting him to lead Amazing Grace, When All of God’s Singers Get Home, Sing and Be Happy, or, Paradise Valley (which just happened to have an alto lead).

You can’t think of Granny B and not think of a full table – of food and people. She honed her cooking skills in the home she built with Pete. Their early years were on a farm in Ponce de Leon, Florida. She shelled the peas, canned the vegetables, milked the cows, wrung chickens’ necks, scalded the feathers off, helped butcher hogs – whatever was needed to keep the shelves, the freezer, and the smokehouse full. No one ever left her table hungry and we chuckle when we think of her famous line upon revealing a smorgasbord of southern fare – “This is all I made.” Some of her more memorable and iconic dishes were chicken ‘n’ dumplin’s, thin-layer chocolate cake, greens, and fried cornbread. Some of us still remember those special cinnamon cucumber pickles she made although we’ve long ago eaten the last jar. Anyone who ever attended a church fellowship meal, joined a family reunion, or just happened to drop by at mealtime has a favorite memory of a favorite dish lovingly prepared by Granny B.

Granny B’s handiwork did not stop at the dinner table. She is probably best known for her beautiful quilt work and crocheted pieces. Lacy doilies were made and saved for wedding gifts, Christmas, or just to say, “I am thinking of you. You are loved.” Bookmarks were crocheted by the dozens and presented to members of the church, visitors, and friends. It was not uncommon to open a card and find a crocheted gift from Granny B’s hands and heart carefully folded inside. The family lost count of all the quilts she pieced together and sewed for family and friends – or friends of friends. Her three girls remember the long, hooked quilting frames their daddy had suspended from the ceiling for all the quilts Granny B put in and then being commandeered to help roll up each side of the frames as she worked closer and closer to the middle. “Tighter! Tighter!” she’d demand. No factory could make quilts with pieces cut with such microscopic precision or with stitches as small and exact as Granny B. Granny B declined to accept what was considered the going rate for hand-pieced quilts – and really no one could afford the true value of her handiwork. The greatest payment she felt she could receive was the look of joy on the faces of those blessed to receive her labor of love.

Granny B is preceded in death by her father and mother, Daniel Jasper and Clara Belle Helms, and by her brothers and sisters: Mattie Butts, Dixie Carroll, Clyde Murphy, Grace Davis, Eiland Helms, J. D. Helms, and Waldene Spencer. She is also preceded in death by her “best memory” and husband of almost 53 years, Wilbur D. (Pete) Brasington, and her second husband, Ben Speigner.  Many of her beloved nieces and nephews have preceded her in death – she remembered them fondly up until her death. Granny B is survived by her three daughters, Gwynn Stafford (Jerry), Flynn Jones (Jack), and Lynne Martin (Larry). Her grandchildren are Shean Stafford (Meme), Tori Williams (Dray), Todd Jones, Rodd Jones (Penny), Wendy McGowan (Josh), Blythe Smith (Jeremy), Faith Spotts (Frank), and Chelsea Martin. Granny B is survived by 21 great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Aunt Eileen is survived by a host of nephews and nieces and Granny B leaves behind a legacy of hundreds of friends she considered family including Mrs. Donna Bowers who cared for her like another daughter. Granny B was a member of the church of Christ and, over her lifetime, regularly attended College Avenue church of Christ in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Geneva church of Christ in Geneva, Alabama, and Sweet Gum Head church of Christ in Westville, Florida. The family would like to give a special thanks to Mrs. Sheryl Crews, Mrs. Regina Harrison and the staff of Westbrook Assisted Living, the staff of Chautauqua Rehabilitation and Nursing Center, and Regency Hospice for the loving and compassionate care they gave to Granny B.

A celebration of Granny B’s life will be held Saturday, February 19, 2022, at Warren Holloway Funeral Home in Geneva, Alabama. A time of visitation will be held at 9:00 a.m. followed by a service led by her grandson, Rodd Jones, and her grandson-in-law, Jeremy Smith, at 10:00 a.m. The family will gather in a private graveside ceremony at Sandy Creek Cemetery following the service.

 

Warren~Holloway~Ward Funeral Home (334) 684-9999, is in charge of arrangements. "Continuing The Trust You’ve Placed In Us” To sign a guest register, please visit: www.whwfuneralhome.com

 

 

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