Barbara Jean Belflower Hampton, 46, of Tifton passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 16, 2013, at her home, surrounded by her family, after a long battle with ALS. Funeral services will be held at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 21, 2013, at the First Baptist Church in Chula. Rev. Chad Hall and Rev. Dan Eidson will officiate with burial to follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Tom Holton, Jake Bland, Steve Chapman, Bryan Chapman, Robert Padgett and Kevin Branch will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be the Ladies of Grace and the Ladies Sunday school class at the First Baptist Church in Chula. The family will receive friends on Wednesday, March 20, 2013, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals. Mrs. Hampton will be placed in the church one hour prior to the service.
Mrs. Hampton was born on February 24, 1967 in East Point and was the daughter of Charles Leon Belflower and Barbara Ann Rose Belflower, both deceased. She was a 1985 graduate of Tift County High School and was a member of the Blue Devil Brigade. Barbara enjoyed her work at The Georgia Agrirama, working as an interpreter. She served as the schoolmarm and supervised the school programs and kids camps. She was very active in her church, First Baptist Church in Chula, where she taught Mission Friends and Awana Classes. She also enjoyed decorating cakes and serving as an interpreter for the deaf. She especially enjoyed spending time with her grandson, Trip.
Mrs. Hampton is survived by her husband, Kevin W. Hampton of Tifton; five children, Kevin Christopher Hampton, Barbara Rebecca Hampton Irions and her husband, James Irions Jr., Matthew Ryan Hampton, Noah Orin Andrew Hampton and Joseph Daniel Hampton, all of Tifton; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Lesli Belflower Holton and her husband, Tommy of Tifton and Carol Belflower Bland and her husband, Jake of Leesburg; one grandchild, James “Trip” Irions, III of Tifton; her mother-in-law, Patricia Hampton of Tifton; a sister-in-law, Cynthia Hampton of Tifton; a brother-in-law, Dennis Hampton of Albany; and several nieces, nephews and great-nephews.
Flowers will be accepted or memorial donations may be made to the ALS Foundation, 1955 Cliff Valley Way NE #116, Atlanta, GA 30329; or to the First Baptist Church in Chula, 30 Academy Drive, Chula, GA 31733.