Mrs. Laura “Eulene” Taylor Brogdon Kent, age 92, peacefully passed away surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren on Monday, August 21 after a brief illness. Eulene was born on February 8, 1931 to F.L. and Lucy (Hart) Taylor in Marianna, the second of seven children born to them. She married Aaron Brogdon on December 7, 1946 and they were married for 58 years until his passing in 2005. In 2008, she married Bobby Kent and was married to him until his death in 2017.
Eulene was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great grandmother who is survived by her four children: Wayne Brogdon and wife, Brenda of Marianna, Stan Brogdon of Marianna, Andy Brogdon and wife, Judy of Alliance and Marsha Wyatt and husband, Donald of Marianna; seven grandchildren: Donna Chandler, Dennis Brogdon, Lisa Weiss, Scott Wyatt, Mark Brogdon, Jenna Barfield and Angela Brogdon; nine great-grandchildren, six great-great grandchildren; sister, Judy Higginbotham and husband, Louis of Orange Park; very special brother-in-law, Jack Brogdon of Marianna and numerous nieces and nephews.
After Eulene had children, she began working outside the home. For many, many years, she was the manager of Bill’s Dollar Store and managed stores in Marianna, Chipley and Cottonwood. After she retired from Bill’s, she decided staying home was not for her and returned to work part-time at Walmart in the sewing and fabrics department for several years. She also helped keep all the books for Aaron’s business and oversaw and managed a mobile home park they owned until it was destroyed by a tornado during Hurricane Ivan in 2004.
Eulene was a devout Christian. She grew up in the church and was a longtime member of Holly Grove Freewill Baptist Church. She loved to talk about God and pray for others. She proudly told others she knew where she was going when her time came and encouraged others to know God. The night before her passing, she was listening to gospel music with her sister and children in her hospital room.
Eulene was a very independent person and lived alone right up until the last few weeks of her life. She loved people and didn’t meet a stranger anywhere she went! One of her favorite hobbies was fishing and you could find her at many fishing spots along the Chipola River or Lake Seminole with anyone that wanted to go, especially with her sisters Geraldine and Jean. Their motto was if the fish was big enough to bite the hook, it was big enough to eat. Her family enjoyed teasing her many times after fishing trips, “How many gallons did ya’ll catch?” because they were famous for putting their small catches in cut-out milk jugs.
Eulene was best known for her expert quilting skills. She made many homemade quilts for her family and loved to sew. Gardening was another favorite pastime of hers. She had a green thumb and quite an act for growing things. She grew a garden every summer, including this summer, and loved growing vegetables to share with her family and neighbors. Putting up vegetables was a favorite summer activity for her, and she spent many hours in her summers picking squash, peas, butterbeans, okra, and corn. Flowers were another passion she had and you would often find her outside tending to her flower beds and rose bushes. She took great pride in her yard! African violets were her favorite flower to grow and she had dozens of them growing all around inside her house. When Aaron was still alive, she loved traveling with him; they enjoyed trips to the Grand Canyon, New York City, the Smoky Mountains, and many other places. When her grandchildren were small, she loved to load them into their motorhome and go camping at local state parks. In her later years, she enjoyed spending time at her daughter’s beach house in Port St. Joe Beach and loved weekend trips to Biloxi and Gulfport.
Visitation with the family will begin at 9:00 A.M., Thursday, August 24, 2023 at Marianna Chapel Funeral Home.
Funeral services will immediately follow beginning at 10:00 A.M. with the Reverend Chris Franklin officiating. Interment will follow in Dykes Cemetery, 2699 State Road 73 South, Marianna, FL with Marianna Chapel Funeral Home directing.
Serving as pallbearers will be Louis Higginbotham, Rodney Rabon, John Warren, Doug Watson, Greg Weiss, and Nicholas Wyatt.
The family would like to thank her nurses at Jackson Hospital, Dr. John Bruner, Dr. Tucker Retherford, the nurses and therapists at Courtyard Healthcare Center for the excellent compassion and care she received during these last seven weeks.
Condolences may be made online at www.mariannachapelfh.com
