Edwin "Ed" Brazeal

Buel Edwin Brazeal, of Northport, Alabama went to Heaven on Wednesday, May 5, 2021 at the age of 90. He passed away surrounded by his family that he so loved. No words are adequate to express the love and gratitude he had for his loving wife of 60 years.

A visitation will be held Tuesday, May 11, 2021 beginning at 11:30am, at Saint Marks United Methodist Church, followed immediately by a Funeral Service at 1:00pm. A private interment service will be held from the Mausoleum at Memory Hill Gardens. Services are entrusted to the care of Memory Chapel, a Dignity provider.

Daddy was born in Reform, Al in 1930 on a sharecropper’s farm in the Great Depression. He was one of five children. He would joke that life was difficult growing up during those times, so much so that he had to walk to school uphill both ways. He graduated from Pickens County High School in May 1948. In July 1952, he was drafted into the US Army where he served in the 115th Medical Battalion, 40th Infantry Division, as Sergeant, during the Korean War. He often talked about how cold it was in the winter while stationed in Korea. He was honorably discharged in 1954 when the war ended.

Daddy graduated from The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration in 1956. Both of his children followed in his footsteps graduating from UA respectively in 1991 and 1992. He loved Crimson Tide football and was thrilled to watch the Tide secure the National Championship in January. He worked with the State of Alabama for 33.5 years, retiring in 1997 as an Appeals Referee with the Unemployment Compensation Division.

Daddy developed a love of church as a child because of his mother’s love of God. He and mother have attended Saint Mark United Methodist Church in Northport, AL for more than 40 years. He taught Sunday school for his son throughout his middle-school years and enjoyed listening to gospel music each afternoon over the past several years.

Daddy loved his family and that was always his top priority. He made sure that the family took a vacation each summer while his children were young. Time was spent on the weekends playing games, riding around on Sunday afternoons, and just spending time together. He later enjoyed these activities with his grandsons.

He is preceded in death by his mother, Lula Brazeal and father, Taney Garrison Brazeal and siblings Claborne Brazeal, Emily Brazeal Chadwick, Gwendolyn Brazeal Lowe, and Taney Afton Brazeal, and his daughter Lisa Darlene Brazeal. He is survived by his wife, Janice Askew Brazeal, daughter Jan Brazeal Ingenrieth (Lothar) and son Mark Brazeal (Johna) and grandsons Garrison Brazeal, Evan Brazeal and Reece Brazeal.

Pallbearers will be Tony Avery, Paul Somers, Brett Holland, Joan Brown, Lynn Higginbotham, and Norman Askew. Honorary Pallbearers are Orrie Kemp, Carol Andrus, Kat Carthage, and Alisha Ryan. We thank the loving care that daddy received from the staff, nurses, and doctors at Forest Manor Rehabilitation. Thank you to the VA Hospital and sitter services. We also greatly appreciate all friends, neighbors, and the Seekers Sunday School class at SMUC.

“Those who are rich in love are the richest of all”; Edwin Brazeal, died a very “rich” man.