Sibyl Frances Branch, 69, of Tifton died Wednesday, October 28, 2009, at Tift Regional Medical Center. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 31, 2009, in the Memorial Chapel of Tifton’s First Baptist Church. Dr. Wayne Roe and Dr. W. Ches Smith III will officiate with burial to follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Bill Reinhardt, Robert Branch, Greg Branch, Pete Garvey, Mike Bland, Austin Jones and Ross Jones will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be the J.O.Y. Sunday School Class of Tifton’s First Baptist Church, Perry McCranie, Charles Massey, Jimmy Walker, Joe Turner, Steve Rigdon, Bob Reinhardt and Judge Gary McCorvey. The family will receive friends on Friday, October 30, 2009, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Bowen-Donaldson Home for Funerals.
Mrs. Branch was born on January 29, 1940 in Tifton and was the daughter of Warren Frank Branch and Sibyl Turner Blitch Branch, both deceased. She was educated in the Tifton public schools and was graduated from Tift County High School in 1958, where she served as head majorette. She attended Gulfport Finishing School in Gulfport, Mississippi and then transferred the Wesleyan College, where she was graduated in 1960 magna cum laude. She attended George Washington University Law School and, during that time, she rode on the State of Georgia float in the John F. Kennedy Inauguration Parade. She was graduated from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University.
Mrs. Branch taught English in the Humanities Division at Abraham Baldwin College and, later, received her R.N. degree from ABAC and worked as a registered nurse at Tift General Hospital. She used her law degree as a State of Georgia Probation Officer.
Mrs. Branch was a member of Tifton’s First Baptist Church, sang in the Adult Choir and was a member of the J. O. Y. Sunday School Class.
Mrs. Branch is survived by her son, George Warren Frank Branch of Tifton; her daughter, Elizabeth Frances Branch-Jones of Tifton; grandsons, Warren Austin Branch-Jones and David Ross Branch-Jones, both of Tifton. She loved her dog, Spencer, and all animals in general. Her faith, her church and her family were her heart.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to Forward in Faith Building Fund at Tifton’s First Baptist Church.