Anne Barden Whitehurst

Mary Annette (Anne) Barden Whitehurst, 83, born October 25, 1936 in Bonifay, FL, to Charles Franklin and Annie Lou Ganus Barden, passed away August 21, 2020. Anne is preceded in death by her loving husband of 58 years Lonnie Thomas Whitehurst and her brothers Maston Barden (Eula Lee), Millard Barden (Lucille), Claude Barden (Rachel), Barnard Joiner (Dorothy), Jack Joiner (Beth), Alva Joiner (Eleanor), and Skeet Joiner (Ann).

A private interment was held at Ft. Mitchell National Cemetery. The family will receive friends at a celebration of life at Epworth United Methodist Church after the COVID-19 risk has passed.

Anne grew up in Bonifay, FL, and attended Holmes County High School where she played basketball and sang in the choir and later Jordan High School in Columbus, where she also sang in the choir, music being one of her first loves. Her first job was as a Bell Telephone Co. operator. Anne married Lonnie Thomas Whitehurst on August 29, 1954, and settled briefly in Panama City, FL, where Lonnie served 2 years in the United States Navy and Anne spent her days fishing at the end of a pier for their dinner. The couple then moved to Columbus, GA, where she lived until her final years. She spent her last years at Phenix City Health Care where she received wonderful care and attention from a kind and overworked staff.

After the birth of her first child, she became a stay at home mother, a role in which she shone. She made sure that her children were imbued with her love of show tunes, reading at the Columbus library, parades, museums, nature – she was often found with her children in a creek or a park – and, perhaps most importantly, justice.

Anne and her husband Lonnie were charter members of Epworth United Methodist Church in 1960. She served in various capacities for the church, including as a member of the Women's Society of Christian Service, repeated President and member of the United Methodist Women, member of the chancel choir, and adult Sunday School teacher. If the church was open, it was likely you’d find a Whitehurst there, and the narthex of the church was rededicated as the Whitehurst Welcome Center after Lonnie’s death in 2015.

After her children were in school, Anne worked at Columbus First National Bank, the Dairy Council of Georgia, and as the financial secretary for St. Luke United Methodist Church. Her most exciting role was easily that of grandmother, a role at which she more than excelled. She spent hours gardening with her grandchildren; fishing in Pine Mountain; making delicious jams, pies, and pickles; exploring the creek at their country home “7 Oaks;” eating watermelon and catching crawfish; identifying birds; drinking coffee on the front porch; playing cards and board games; and loving her grandchildren as deeply as anyone ever could. They knew from the many Shoney’s lollipops and childrens’ menus she collected for them in the miles she travelled across the Southeast to visit them over the years.

In many ways, Anne was a woman ahead of her time: a 20th century progressive. She instilled in her children and grandchildren a deep dedication to equity in all parts of life; in all political, social, and economic contexts, for people of all races. The love that she held for her church and her family was extended across her community without qualification. Her children recall trips to the local rescue missions, where they – a family of limited means – gave what they had to their neighbors. As her mental health declined, when she was without the ability to do so herself, she tasked her children with delivering paper plates, utensils, and other necessities to local charities to provide for others in the area. Even in her illness, the essence of Anne was there.

Anne was greatly loved and will be deeply missed by her children Laurie Whitehurst Glenn (Bob) of Victoria, TX; and Denny Whitehurst of Columbus, GA; as well as grandchildren Lisa Glenn Nobles (Will) of Phoenix, AZ; Katie Glenn of Montgomery, AL (Wes Hutto); Carl Glenn of New York City, NY (Kelly); Charlie Whitehurst of Birmingham, AL (Lauren Jada); Cody Whitehurst of Birmingham, AL; and her sister, Lora Joiner of Castle Pines, CO; as well as innumerable friends who are like family.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to Epworth United Methodist Church, 2400 Devonshire Dr., Columbus, GA 31904.