Joseph Cullen Vance III; known to his family and friends as “Buzz”, passed away just after his 73rd birthday. Buzz was raised in Lipscomb, Alabama by his parents, J.C. Vance, Jr. and Jean Wyatt Vance, where he attended Jones Valley High School. He is an alum of the University of Alabama, where he earned his bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduation from U.of A., he landed at Southern Company Services in Birmingham where he earned his certification as a Professional Engineer, and met his wife, Sandra “Sandy” Lees Vance. Buzz was a devoted husband to his wife of 42 years, and a strong role model to his 3 daughters, Christina “Tina”, Ryan, and Erin. Buzz retired from Southern Company 42 years later.
In 2012, he began his struggle with Alzheimer’s. He was a charitable human; giving 8 years of service to the Alabama Army National Guard as a helicopter mechanic, decades to the MathCounts program for children; where he won the President’s Award for his dedication and contributions, numerous school and church programs, and years as Head Coach for his daughters’ softball leagues. He was a loyal Tide Pride member with a passion for the Alabama Crimson Tide; Roll Tide! He lived a full life, wasn’t afraid to have a good time, he loved to sing and dance, he loved to teach and coach; he was a mentor to some and a friend to many. He believed in respecting others and doing the right thing. He believed that men should be men and taught his girls to play hard ball too. He will be remembered as an honorable, intelligent, respectable, hardworking man that could build just about anything and had a joke for everything.
Buzz was preceded in death by his beloved parents, and is survived by his wife, Sandy, their 3 daughters and son’s in law, Christina and Charlie Rogers, Ryan and Eddy Horton, Erin and Brad Meacham, 4 grandsons (Biggs, Hunter, Sam, Finn) and 3 granddaughters (Sofia, Cheyenne, Dana), his younger brother Robert Steven “Steve” Vance, and a host of nieces and nephews. Buzz’s wish was to be cremated and have his ashes spread over his favorite place.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, August 2, 2019 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Birmingham. Visitation to begin at 10am followed by a memorial service at 11am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be sent to any of Buzz’s favorite charities in his honor: MathCounts Foundation at mathcounts.org, at heart.org, at act.ALZ.org
The family would like to send a special Thank You to Plantation Manor and Alabama Hospice Care for the special care and comfort given to Buzz during his last few weeks.
Michael B. Miller, Sr., age 72, of Trussville, AL passed away on July 18, 2019. As a child Michael enjoyed playing Football and baseball. As an adult he joined the Army and was later honorably discharged. He was an extremely honest man; in fact he was referred to by some as, “brutally honest”. He enjoyed traveling with his loving wife of fifty years, Carol Richards Miller to places such as, Yellowstone National Park and Columbia River Gorge. He loved taking the backroads. He was very fond of his 1933 Chevy truck and as a hobby and ministry he liked to pass out little Hot Wheels cars and Bibles to children. He never passed up the opportunity to indulge in a scoop of ice-cream, slice of chocolate pound cake or some bread pudding. His favorite meal of the day was breakfast and he was known by name at Waffle House and Golden Rule. He was a hardworking man who retired from Southern Company Services where he served as an Electrical Engineer for over thirty years of service before retiring. He was a member at First Baptist Church of Trussville.
Arnold Roy Sims Jr., age 72, of Pelham, Alabama passed away on July 19, 2019. He was a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. Roy was born July 23,1946 and attended Lee Elementary School, West End High School 1964, and Samford University 1969. He retired from Southern Company Services and was a volunteer and board member Emeritus of APCO Employees Credit Union with 43 years of service.
Linda (Lyn) Moore Brown, 72, passed on July 11, 2019. Lyn was born on July 2, 1947 in Memphis, Tennessee to Megel A. Moore and Alma Shears Moore. She graduated from Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama in 1965. She attended Samford University where she earned her degree in 1989. Lyn retired from a successful career at Southern Company Services where she was beloved by her coworkers. She was a member of Faith Community Fellowship in Trussville, AL. A lifelong Bridge player, Lyn was an active member of the Birmingham Duplicate Bridge Club. Lyn was preceded in death by her parents and her loving husband of 46 years, Roger A. Brown. She is survived by her children, Christopher Brown (Annie) and Karen Towers (Jeff); grandchildren, Daniel, Nicholas, Katherine and Evelyn Brown and Brandon Towers. She is also survived by her sister, Brenda Chapman (Steve) and family. Services will be held as follows: