Bobbie Jean Williams Kimbrell, 91, passed away on November 21, surrounded by her family.

She was born on September 19, 1934, in a coal mining camp near Jasper, Alabama, where she was raised as the only child of Arlie and Gracie (Guthrie) Williams. At age 21, she met and married Coleman Earl Kimbrell. She was predeceased by Coleman shortly after they celebrated their sixty-fifth wedding anniversary.

Together, they raised four children—three sons followed by a daughter—and built a home filled with books, laughter, and playful curiosity. As a young mother of four, Bobbie managed a boisterous and impeccably spotless household through her abundant energy and deep sense of responsibility. She was a wonderfully inventive cook who prepared hot meat-and-three (or five) meals daily, complete with homemade bread, fresh garden vegetables, and cobbler, pie, or cake. Bobbie was also an avid reader, an imaginative designer of bouquets from her yard, skilled seamstress, and creative manager who fed and dressed her family on a shoestring budget. She began each morning with the newspaper, daily crossword, and cryptoquote, and she kept a dictionary tucked beneath the sofa for "quickdraw" pronunciation checks. She collected favorite words as eagerly as she invented cat names, such as Oedipuss and Miss Opuss.

While undertaking daily challenges, Bobbie enrolled at Florence State University (now UNA) and doggedly pursued her education. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Educational Psychology and Sociology, followed by a Master's degree in Counseling. She later earned her Alabama Class AA Certification while pursuing her Ed.S. in Educational Psychology at Alabama A&M. Ultimately, she became certified to administer IQ tests. With the publication of each revised test, she enthusiastically tried them out on every willing (or not) family member. Bobbie was a member of the National Association of School Psychologists and enjoyed a professional career as a psychometrist for the Lauderdale County School System until retirement at 65. Through her intervention, more than two thousand children gained critical educational accommodations. The creative responses of children she tested provided many of her greatest joys. When asked on an IQ test what he would do if someone much younger picked on him, a child once replied, "I'd tell him to go eat more cornbread." When asked why someone might burn all their clothes after encountering a skunk, another child wisely answered, "They don't need to burn ALL of their clothes—just the ones they were wearing." She found these responses delightful.

She valued higher education immensely and championed it for her own children, who collectively earned four bachelor's degrees, three master's degrees, an Ed.S., and an ABD Ph.D. She remained deeply proud of each of their accomplishments.

After retirement, Bobbie and Coleman traveled extensively. She kept meticulous diaries of every trip, capturing both the splendor of grand sights and the quiet, human moments that moved her most. Together they visited more than a dozen countries, from Okinawa, Japan, to Ireland, Great Britain, Greece, Morocco, Russia, Turkey, Germany, France, Spain, and several others. She enjoyed procuring interesting items from museums, exhibits, and marketplaces. She appreciated beauty wherever she found it—whether in a hand-painted porcelain figurine, a fragrance sample tucked into a magazine, or the first daffodils of spring, which sparked particular joy as her favorite color was yellow. Rather than discard those fragrance samples, she zipped them into her vacuum cleaner bag, filling the house with fleeting, perfumed air. She collected fragrances, netsukes, Lladro figurines, and an ever-growing menagerie of bunny sculptures. Bobbie accessorized and dressed impeccably, and she painted her fingernails every evening, never recognizing her own beauty, grace, and poise as fully as everyone around her did.

Since 1962, Bobbie and Coleman had been lifetime members of Jackson Heights Church of Christ, where she was a charter member of the Visitation Committee. Together they served faithfully for decades. They also enjoyed the fellowship, classes, field trips, and potluck meals as members of UNA's Learning in Retirement program. She loved libraries, picnics, beach trips, Zodiac theater showings, off-Broadway productions, and special exhibits at museums. Her grammar was impeccable, her vocabulary expansive, and her appreciation for language lifelong. Her children fondly remember her quoting Shakespeare's Macbeth and launching the entire family into hunts for interesting words and meanings.

She is survived by four children: Major Stan Kimbrell, USAF Ret. (Bridgette), Pulaski, TN; Gregg Kimbrell, Bridge City, TX; Eric Kimbrell (Beth), Florence; and Karen Kimbrell Dillard (Brian), Hoover. She is also survived by eight grandchildren: Jessica Kimbrell (Amanda), Denver, CO; Katie Kimbrell Ramirez (Joe), Houston, TX; Lauren Kimbrell Sams (Dr. Brent), Lodi, CA; Andrew Kimbrell (Bekah), Florence; Sarah Holland (Ian) Kimbrell-Coble, Columbus, OH; Cole Dillard, Hoover; Wilson Dillard, Fort Myers, FL; and Claire Dillard, Starkville, MS; and two great-grandchildren: Anna Blair Kimbrell, Florence; and Rhys Sams, Lodi, CA.

The family expresses deep appreciation to Renaissance Assisted Living of Florence, Mitchell Hollingsworth, Preferred Hospice, and a host of sitters from Elder Care. The family is also especially grateful to Star Roach and Chuck Patrick for their care and friendship in the final year of Mrs. Kimbrell's life.

Funeral services will be held Wednesday, November 26, with visitation at 10:00 AM and service at 11:00 AM in the chapel of Elkins Funeral Home. A graveside prayer at Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens will follow.