Edna Bedingfield Branch, 92, of Tifton passed away Monday, April 18, 2016, at Cypress Pond Assisted Living in Tifton. Her funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, April 21, 2016, in the Memorial Chapel of Tifton’s First Baptist Church with Dr. Wayne Roe officiating. Mrs. Branch will be laid to rest at Oak Ridge Cemetery. The family will receive friends Thursday, April 21, 2016, from 1:00 p.m. until the hour of the service at the Memorial Chapel of Tifton’s First Baptist Church.
Lindsey Bedingfield, Dr. Andy Bedingfield, David Nestor, Ron Branch, Stanley Branch and Jody Branch will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Tifton Rotary Club.
Born August 30, 1923 in Cadwell, Mrs. Branch was the daughter of the late Dr. R. A. Bedingfield and Florrie P. Bedingfield. She was also preceded in death by her husband, J. Lamar Branch; two brothers, Ralph P. Bedingfield and Dr. James A. Bedingfield; a sister, Fannie Jo B. Holt; brother-in-law, Gilbert Branch; and a sister-in-law, Arlene Lumpkin. She had lived in Tifton since 1962. She was a graduate of the University of Georgia and taught Home Economics in Laurens County. She was a member of Tifton’s First Baptist Church and taught the Gleaners Sunday School Class for many years; served as Woman’s Missionary Union Director; was vice-president of Georgia WMU for five years; was president of Georgia WMU from 1985-1989 and was conference leader for WMU. She served as National Vice-President of WMU and on the WMU Finance Committee; served as Interfaith Witness Associate for the Home Mission Board and Georgia Baptist Convention. For the Georgia Baptist Convention, she served on the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee and the Education Commission; and as a vice-president. She was a member of the Mell Baptist Association Administrative Board and was the first woman to serve as Chairman of the Order of Business Committee of the Georgia Baptist Convention at an annual meeting. She was a member of Tifton’s Camellia Garden Club and the Council of Garden Clubs. She was an honorary member of the Tifton Rotary Club and a Paul Harris Fellow. She was an honorary alumna of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and member of the President’s Club at ABAC. She was also an honorary member of both the Georgia Future Homemakers of America and the Georgia Future Farmers of America. Mrs. Branch was also a past member of the John Laurens Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Mrs. Branch is survived by a sister-in-law, Blanche Branch of Tifton; and several nieces and nephews, including Ron Branch and Stan Branch, both of Tifton.