Annabel Moffat Brantley

Annabel Moffat Brantley, 98, died quietly in her sleep on April 24, 2023. She is survived by two daughters, Patte Brantley Casey and Vicki Brantley Clements (Alvin), 9 grandchildren, and 20 great grandchildren.

Annabel moved from Key West to Tallahassee in 1966 for a new job and so her daughters could attend Florida State University. She worked for the Department of Education, mainly as a school social work consultant. She retired early from the Department to pursue a nursing degree at FAMU and worked for 10 years as an RN before retiring again. In retirement she became a Tallahassee Silver Star because of her varied volunteer work including Legion of Mary, hospice, women's prison, and Open Door Pregnancy Center.

Annabel grew up in Key West, Florida. She lived down the street from the Hemingway’s and across the street from the Key West Lighthouse in the home that her father also grew up in. She attended the Convent of Mary Immaculate Girls School. When Annabel was 15 she had a piano ‘graduation’ recital. She memorized and performed for over two hours the works of classical composers.

After high school graduation when WWII commenced, Annabel worked for the Naval Commandant. After the war, she headed to New York for college and received a degree in 1948 in Political Science and Economics from Queens College. On her return to Key West she met naval aviator, Melvin Harry Brantley. They were married in 1950, but later divorced in 1955. Annabel returned to Key West to live with her two daughters. She taught elementary school until she attended FSU in 1959 on a scholarship to earn a master’s in social work. (She was the first divorced woman to live in FSU married student housing.) On her return to Key West in 1961, she became the school social worker for the Florida Keys before moving back to Tallahassee in 1966.

Tallahassee funeral service for Annabel will be held on May 1, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The service will continue at Roselawn Cemetery, and end with a reception at Culley’s Funeral Home on Timberlane.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.CulleysMeadowWood.com for the Brantley family.