A Life Lived: Carolyn Brace longed for Heaven in her later years

Published 12:27 pm Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Carolyn Brace was a soft-spoken, thoughtful person, who often repeated the sage wisdom of her father, William L. Phillips. She didn’t talk just for the sake of talking. Often, when she said something, it was words from the heart. One of her father’s favorite sayings, which she often repeated, were the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.”

Carolyn, who died Sept. 27 at the age of 88, was a daughter of William L. and Hannah Phillips and one of seven children. Only a sister, Shirley Batchelder, remains.

Carolyn was very talented. In her younger years she enjoyed singing and sang in the Calvary Baptist Church Choir as well as sang solos. She often provided music at WMU conferences. In later years she attended First Free Will Baptist Church, where she was a member of the Volunteer Sunday School Class and helped each month with their meal ministry. “She enjoyed the fellowship of the group,” said her niece, Loretta Pritchard.

Carolyn was a military wife. Her husband, Leo Brace, who preceded her in death, was a mess hall general. After he left service, he and Carolyn did a lot of cooking and catering and she enjoyed decorating cakes. “She was a great cook and could cook anything,” said Loretta.

Ironically, she was a vegetarian. “Give her a bowl of soup beans, some cornbread, and coleslaw, and she was very happy,” said Loretta.

“Carolyn believed in creating happy memories every day, and she made happy memories for her two sons and grandchildren and her nieces. She enjoyed camping, and often she and I and a couple of her church friends, Doris Perry and Norma Johnson, would spend a weekend at Roan Mountain State Park. We created some good memories, and Carolyn was a part of those memories,” Loretta said.

She noted that she and Carolyn along with two other nieces, Linda and Janet Phillips, would often get away for the weekend for a trip to Fontana Lake or Townsend, Tn. “We again had some wonderful times together and created some fun memories,” said Loretta.

She was the mother of two sons, Stephen and Jonathan Brace, and had three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Carolyn also enjoyed playing games. Among her favorites were Phax 10, Yahtzee, Farkle, Mexican Train, and Scrabble. “She was very good at the games, and it was a challenge as well as a joy to play with her,” said Loretta.

“She and I in recent years had spent a lot of time together. She would come down and spend a couple of nights with me at a time and in the summer we would enjoy breakfast on the back porch. She was such a wonderful houseguest, and we enjoyed each other’s company so much,” said Loretta.

Norma Johnson, teacher of the Volunteer Sunday School Class and a good friend of Carolyn’s, shared that her favorite topic of conversation in later years was heaven. “She talked often of Heaven and it was almost like she couldn’t wait to go. She was a wonderful person — soft-spoken, kind, and genuine,” she shared.

More recently, she had suffered from dementia and had been unable to attend church or enjoy many of her activities.

At her memorial service, Loretta shared thoughts from Gal. 5: 22-23, which defined the fruits of the spirit. “These fruits of the spirit described her life and made her a joy to be around,” her niece declared.

Today, Heaven, no doubt, is a reality for Carolyn Brace — a place she did a lot of talking about and read about while on earth. If only she could tell us about it, what a joy it would be to sit at her feet and listen to her stories.