Palestine High School Alumni Association

04 / 11 / 1920  –  08 / 14 / 2007

Mrs. G.T. “Juanita” Branch, 87, of Lufkin, was born April 11, 1920, in Palestine, Texas, the daughter of the late Sue (Killebrew) and Lawrence Elrod. She passed away Tuesday, August 14, 2007.

Mrs. Branch was a retired secretary for Dow Chemical Company, following 30 years of employment. She graduated from Palestine High School and from Nixon Business College.

She married Glen Branch in 1937, and they resided in Palestine until 1948. They then resided in Freeport until 1978, when they moved to Lufkin.

She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and was an active member of Calvary Baptist Church. In her younger years, she was active in R.S.V.P. and was a volunteer at Woodland Heights Medical Center.

Survivors include her grandson, Jimmy Boren and wife Sharon of San Antonio; granddaughter, Dayna Cartwright and husband Brian of Boerne; great-grandchildren, Nicholas (Nicky) Cartwright, Valerie Cartwright, Emily Boren and Grant Boren; sister, Jeanne Moore of San Antonio; sister-in-law, Lavonne (Dood) Wommack of Daingerfield; special friends, Mary and Wendell Holmes of Dallas and Reba Athey of Lufkin; and a number of nieces, nephews and other family members.

In addition to her parents, Mrs. Branch was preceded in death by her husband of 37 years, Glen Branch, in 1983; and beloved daughter, Glenda Jean (Branch) Boren, in 1988.

Pallbearers will be Jimmy Boren, Brian Cartwright, Vince Treadwell, Nicholas (Nicky) Cartwright, J. C. LeFlore, Wendell Holmes and Grant Boren.

The family expresses its heartfelt appreciation to Mrs. Branch’s special church family at Calvary Baptist Church, and to the caregivers at PineCrest Health Care.

Services for Mrs. Branch will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, August 18, 2007, in the Gipson Funeral Home Chapel, with the Rev. Jimmy Hedges officiating. Interment will follow in the Garden of Memories Memorial Park.

Friends are invited to visit with the family from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday night at Gipson Funeral Home.

Source: Palestine Herald-Press 08-16-2007