Grace Webb died September 24, 2020 at age 89. She was born November 2, 1930, to parents Grace Henrietta Griffin and Hendon Jeffries Beckham. The Beckham family of 11 children included: Hendon, Dorothy, Marion (Bubba), Harold, Thomas, William, Helen, Jeff (Junie), Ronald and Peggy. Helen Hanson, Rev. Ronald Beckham and Peggy Matthews survive her.
Grace married Ralph Boykin Culbreth Jr. (1928-1986) in 1949, and they were the parents of five daughters: Judy (Walter Kirkland), Becky (Terry Roberts), Jeffry (Tom Farley), Jenny (Bob Smithers), and Patricia Jean. Husbands Ralph Culbreth and Bill Webb, daughter Patti and son-in-law Jim Cochran predeceased her. She was grandmamma to Brett (Miles Cameron) and Charlie Mosely; McGhie (Scott Calahan), Zach (Joanna), and John Cochran; Kate (Matt Andra) and Tommy Farley; Drew (Sarah) and Cooper Smithers. She also lived long enough to enjoy loving relationships with 10 great-grandchildren: Grey, Harry and Georgia Cameron; Gracie, Sutton and Jay Calahan; Lyla and James Cochran; Avery Andra; and Audrey Smithers. She was the sweet matriarch of quite a large family. Her Beckham nieces and nephews stayed in close touch and considered her a confidante. In addition, she was buddies for 70 years with sister-in-law Evelyn Culbreth Tallman and had warm relationships with Evelyn’s children Bryan (Connie Vautier), Candy and Cherry.
From old Mobile families on both sides, Grace was a descendant of the Griffins who built many of the Carpenter Gothic cottages Downtown and Jean Baptiste Baudreau, one of the original founders of Mobile who was an explorer with Pierre LeMoyne D’Iberville. She was a member of the Ecor Rouge Chapter of DAR based on service of Sherwood Beckham.
Born west of Florida Street, just across the city limits, she grew up in a country-in-the-city setting. She entertained her grandchildren with tales of the family’s chickens, cows, little pigs that caused trouble and the pet goat that pulled a cart. You couldn’t tell it by her lady-like looks and manner, but she was a tomboy at heart. Grace kept up with her brothers whether it was playing baseball, or jumping on the back of a bike to go explore Wragg Swamp. Her sense of fun—particularly if it involved dancing—never left her.
A graduate of Murphy High School in 1949, she later attained certification as a dental hygienist. Many Mobilians remember Miss Grace from her years of working with Dr. Graham McClintock.
Graveside services for family will be held in Mobile. For information on the virtual memorial service in early October, visit [email protected]. In lieu of flowers, she requested donations to Fairhope United Methodist Church, 155 S. Section Street, Fairhope, Alabama 36532.
