Celebration of Life

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Saturday, January 10, 2004 11:OOA.M.
r A Tabernacle Baptist Church ; ^ 1223 Laney Walker Boulevard
Augusta, Georgia
Reverend Otis B. Moss, III, Pastor/Officiating

OBITUARY
Mrs. Eddye Pearle Elzina^Ja^lorJ^ennell, daughter of the late Henry and Lucia Marshall Taylor, and wife of 57 years of the la?e~Herman W. Fennell, was born on April 29, 1917 in the Taylor Town Community of Abbeville, South Carolina. She died January 3, 2004 in Augusta, Georgia.; Her early nurturing which valued Christian principles, family unity, and educational pursuits provided fertile ground for a life based on faith, compassion and service.
Mrs. Fennell s formal education began in the Abbeville County Public Schools. She completed high school at Washington Street High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. She attended Benedict College and received her Bachelor of Science and Masters in Education degrees from South Carolina State University. Her Specialist Certicate in Education was received from the University of South Carolina.
A life of church membership and service began at the Washington Street Presbyterian Church of Abbeville and continued at Liberty Baptist Church, Honea Path, South Carolina, Young Storm Branch Baptist Church, Langley, South Carolina and finally at Tabernacle Baptist Church, Augusta, Georgia. She was active in each congregation and provided service and leadership in activities including Sunday School, Youth Education, Missionary Society, Deaconess Board, and various choirs.
Mrs. Fennell was an educator by profession and was employed in the South Carolina counties of Spartanburg, Hampton, Anderson and Aiken. She was able to instill in her students new visions of developmental potential, which provided high levels of personal achievement. She was also involved in teacher training and various other forms of educational leadership. Her professional memberships involved the Aiken County Education Association, the Palmetto Education Association, the South Carolina Education Association, and the National Education Association. Her professional career spanned forty years.
Her civic and community activities included membership on the Midland Valley Public Library Citizens Advisory Committee, the South Carolina State University Alumni Association, and the Zeta Xi Omega Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated. One of her treasured activities was her participation with the AKA Ensemble.
Eddye was a loyal and devoted family member. She extended her loving arms to all and found pride and joy in each relationship. Her compassionate spirit, loving heart, supportive personality and personal commitment, were a blessing to her family, friends and students. Her warm smile, encouraging words, personal generosity, family loyalty, and courageous outlook revealed the qualities of her essence.
Mrs. Fennell is survived by: one son Dr. Wesley W. Fennell, Asheboro, North Carolina^win daughters, Dr. Marsha Harris, Bath, South Carolina and Judith (Judge John "Jack") Ruffin, AugUsta, Georgia; one sister, Johnnye Thompson, Lawrenceville, Virginia; five grandchildren, Chaplain (Capt.) H. Franklin Harris, II, Montgomery, Alabama, Stephanie Harris, Goose Creek, South Carolina, Irenee (Jermaine) Fennell-Cheek, Goldsboro, North Carolina, Herman W. Fennell, II, Greensboro, North Carolina and S. Brinkley (Candace) Ruffin, Stockbridge, Georgia; four great-grandchildren, Sarah Christine and Devin Jermaine Creek, Goldsboro, North Carolina, Nia Kirkland, Goose Creek, South Carolina, Bryson Ruffin, Stockbridge, Georgia; three sisters-in-law, Eunice Fennell (Johnny) Peterson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June Fennell, Aiken, South Carolina and Juanita Fennell, Dallas, Texas; six nephews; five nieces; and many cousins and other relatives. Amongst her numerous friends, were Earnest Strother, Sr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Lucille Floyd and Betty Marshall, both of Augusta, Georgia.
We therefore in giving her back to Thee, Dear Lord, sorrowfully say, There she goes. We realize that those on the other shore, with open arms, will pick up the chant andjoyfully say, Here she comes.