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Mr. Timmy Joe Smith better known as Joe, age 61 of Winfield passed away at his residence. Joe was born in Winfield, Alabama on March 7, 1961 to William L. and Mary Catherine Spiller Smith. He was a long-time employee of the Northwest Medical Center.

Joe was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Diane Smith and his parents. He is survived by his stepson, Billy Mason.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Bowen Funeral Home of Winfield serving the Smith family.

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Lylia Bryant of Winfield, AL, left this world and ran to Jesus’ arms on Saturday September 17, 2022, comfortable and peaceful. Her final day on this side of Heaven was filled with prayers, scripture, laughter and tears in a celebration of her life by her daughters and their daughters at her bedside. She finally released this world when her son grasped her hand one last time. In spite of the fact she battled heart issues for decades, she never wavered from her constant trust in the Lord’s goodness and grace. Lylia was born on October 14, 1936 to Lyle and Eleanora Johnson in Danville, IL. The family moved to Birmingham, AL where she grew up, and graduated Woodlawn High School in 1954. Lylia was blessed with stunning beauty, so it was no surprise that while attending Woodlawn, she caught the eye of Ed Bryant. They were married December 16, 1955 by Ed’s father, Rev. C. E. Bryant, and lived in Woodlawn until settling down in Winfield in their new home in Continental Heights. Lylia was a devoted wife and mother, who never missed any of her children’s many sports activities. It was always fun to sit near her during any game, as she was often very vocal in her support! Her love of many different kinds of sports continued right up to the end of her life. She enjoyed her season tickets to Alabama basketball as often as possible, but also frequently attended Alabama Gymnastics Meets and Softball games. When she couldn’t attend a game or event, you could find her glued to her TV or sports radio, especially for SEC football. Even after all her children had long since graduated, she continued to be a supporter of Winfield High School sports. And, while Lylia enjoyed sports as a spectator, she was also a talented and avid golfer for many years. In addition to sports, Lylia was very active in civic groups like the Cosmopolitan Club, assuming responsibilities in many areas and on many projects. Arguably, her greatest contribution was her involvement at Winfield First Baptist Church, where she faithfully taught Sunday School for over 50 years, caring and praying for others continuously, even while suffering courageously with health issues. She was blessed with a beautiful soprano voice and sang with the choir every week, until her health kept her from climbing into the choir loft. Lylia is best remembered by her lilting, contagious, head-back laughter; her gorgeous, infectious smile and her happy, good-natured demeanor. She wasn’t afraid of speaking the truth when asked, but kept her opinions to herself otherwise. She was someone who made those around her just feel good, and was a generous person- both with her resources and with her time. She was not one to complain when personal issues arose - she suffered in silence, stating, “no one likes to listen to someone who complains.” Over the years, she loved to garden, was an amazing cook and a voracious reader. Because she was so well-read, she was able to add interest to almost every conversation, and was all but impossible to beat at board games, especially Scattergories. Just ask her grandkids! So, we celebrate the incredible life of Lylia Bryant. She leaves behind her three children, Cindi, Mark and Natalie, along with a long list of grandchildren and great grandchildren. We grieve and we will miss her greatly; but we grieve with hope- because we know that she is not in these ashes. She finally saw her Savior not “through a glass dimly” but rather face to face. She is home, fully healed and rejoicing. We have no doubt that she has received many crowns as a good and faithful servant of her Lord. She has begun to truly live; and if we too know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we will indeed see her again. So, we do not say goodbye to Lylia today. Rather, we can confidently proclaim, “See you soon!”

A celebration of life service for Mrs. Bryant will be held on Saturday, October 1, 2022 at 12:00 noon from the Winfield First Baptist Church.  The family will receive friends from 11:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. service time.  In lieu of flowers the family request that donations be made to the Winfield First Baptist Church building fund.

Bowen Funeral Home of Winfield, Al serving the Bryant family.

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Dorothy Westbrook Couch was called home to be with the Lord on September 15, 2022 at age 97. Dorothy was born on November 16, 1924, in Winfield, Alabama to the late Hester Ward Westbrook and the late Lether Greene Westbrook. Dorothy attended elementary, junior high, and high school in Winfield. She actually met her future husband Robert in third grade on the school bus. It was love at first sight for him. It took a while for her. After graduating from Winfield High School, Dorothy relocated to Birmingham to begin a career, first in retail and later in business administration at Bechtel-McCone Aircraft Modification Center as World War II began. Dorothy and Robert married in 1943, just prior to his shipping out to the Pacific Theater for two years. After the war Dorothy and Robert raised three boys to adulthood, moving from Birmingham to Jasper, Montgomery and Northport, Alabama for Robert's career. Dorothy was an accomplished homemaker, loving wife, harried mother of three boys, and still found time for music, art, ceramics, and flower gardening. Travels in the American West, especially New Mexico and Arizona, inspired her artistic creativity. Many of her landscape and still life paintings reflect the special feel of those places. Dorothy was a Charter Member of Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, a member of First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and a long-time member of Huffman Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. She was active in Sunday school, senior choirs and many projects with her church friends. Dorothy was also a long-time “Candy Stripe Girl,” a volunteer group of seamstresses at what is now Saint Vincent’s Hospital East that made comfort pillows for heart surgery patients. Dorothy had a long life full of love for her family, her friends, her community and her Lord. Dorothy is survived by her three sons, Robert L. Couch, Jr. (Kay); Michael A. Couch (Karen); Kenneth W. Couch (Carol); by her four grandchildren Leigh K. Kennedy (Patrick); Noel B. Couch (Ashley); Amiee Couch; Kimberly Chance (Jim); and by her ten great-grandchildren Mackenzie, Leila, Audrey, Quinn and Nora Couch; Blue and Jordan Kennedy; Harlee, Shiloh and Rhys Chance. Dorothy was preceded in death by her parents; her loving husband Robert L. Couch Sr.; her sister Lynn W. Bell; and her brother Howard W. Westbrook. The family will receive friends on Saturday, September 24, 2022 from 9 a.m. until 10 a.m. at the Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home in Trussville. Funeral services will follow at 10 a.m. A graveside service will be held at 3:30 p.m. from the Winfield City Cemetery in Winfield, Alabama.

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Ms. Edith Edna Johnson Courtney, age 88 of Lake Park Georgia, formerly of Winfield, passed away on Friday, September 9, 2022 at her residence. Ms. Courtney was born in Lamar County, Alabama on December 31, 1933 to Joe William and Alice Cantrell Johnson. Ms. Courtney loved all things technology; she enjoyed communicating with others on Facebook until her ill health would not allow. Ms. Courtney earned her GED and later attended college at age 40. She then began her career in Addison, IL with GTE Telephone Company, later known as AT&T. She began her work there on the factory line, assembling telephone circuit boards, she later moved into management as a supervisor and retired with over 32 years of service. Ms. Courtney also enjoyed doing crafts, cross stitch, floral arranging, and traveling with her sisters.

She is survived by her, daughter, Regina Courtney, sons, Russell Courtney (Doris) and William Atkinson, grandchildren, Max Miles, Alan Atkinson, Charlyn Atkinson, Chad Atkinson, Dorrie Poulson, and Charles Smallwood, and a host of great grandchildren, nieces, nephews and other family members.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Christy Atkinson, brothers, Bernard Johnson and Hillard Johnson, as well as sisters, Hazel Tidwell, Yvonne Reed, Nadine Porter and Marilyn Robertson.

Funeral services for Ms. Courtney will be held on Saturday, September 17, 2022 at 1:30 p.m. from the Bowen Funeral Home Chapel with burial to follow in the West Alabama Memorial Gardens. The visitation will be held on Saturday from 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. service time at the funeral home.

Bowen Funeral Home serving the Courtney family.