Eula Mae Wood Brannon

Eula Mae Wood Brannon, born in Topaz, Mo., on Aug. 27, 1925 to the late William Joel and Ida Mae Wood, passed away on Wednesday (March 14, 2018) in Columbia. Eula's life experience was as colorful as one of the beautiful quilts she loved to make. She could remember a portion of a wagon & ox journey her family made in the late 1920s to the White River region of Arkansas. Her story centered around a doll named "Bob-Bob" whose face was getting speckled by rain dripping from the canvas top. She was terrified that "Bob-Bob" had measles. She was the only girl in a family of six children. She was quick to tell anyone, "You are not going to tell me anything about men: I had five brothers." She married Dolpha W. Brannon on Dec. 19, 1945. She and Dolpha bought a farm in Dermott, Ark., cut timber, set up a sawmill that ran from the fly wheel of a model B John Deere and sawed the logs into lumber to build their house and barns. Land was cleared during the winters for growing cotton, soybeans, corn and a few cattle. Summers were typically 110 degrees in the shade. There was no such thing as air conditioning to cool you or television for entertainment. She kept cool and entertained by swimming, floating, diving and playing in the bayou that surrounded their property. She was an extraordinary swimmer and could perform beautiful dives off the banks or tree limbs, very much like an otter. She has been witness to the most wonderful events and inventions spanning 92 years, from travel by oxen and mule to automobiles, trains, airplanes, telephone, internet, television, Apollo, man landing on the moon, Space Shuttle and watching the International Space Station go over in the night sky. Eula was a fabulous cook. She could come up with something to feed a crowd of people from nothing but flour, lard and sugar. It got even better if something was in season such as blackberries and wild plums for pies and cobblers. Having a gas or electric stove was not necessary. She could do all this on a wood stove during winter or summer. Bottled soft drinks were a rare delicacy, but she knew that washed out Coke bottles filled with Kool-Aid were just as exciting as the real thing to any kid. Throughout such a remarkable life with a unique set of obstacles, she remained kind, saw only the good in everyone and never listened to the negatives on anyone, a life lesson to all of us who remain. Survivors include her brother, Henry Wood; daughter, Martha Cash and her husband, Donald; granddaughter, Charlotte Most and her husband, Ken; and many nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Dolpha, and four brothers, Allen, Herbert, Earl and Albert Wood. Funeral service for Mrs. Brannon, age 92, of Kelso, will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, at Higgins Funeral Home with Bro. David Miller officiating. Burial will follow in Higgins Cedar Hills Memorial Gardens. Visitation with the family will be held from 5 until 8 p.m. on Friday, March 16, at Higgins Funeral Home.