Obituaries, Saturday, July 23, 2022

Published 2:12 pm Friday, July 22, 2022

Linda Stricklin Dykes

Linda Stricklin Dykes, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away on Saturday, July 16, 2022.  Funeral services will be Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at Green Hills Funeral Home with visitation at 1:00pm.  A chapel service will begin at 2:00pm with Rev. Steve Winton officiating.  Burial will follow the service at Green Hills Memorial Cemetery with Chandler Beck, Austin Black, Jason Hall, Will Starling, Josh Starling and Drew Starling serving as pallbearers.

Linda taught many years in the Troy City Schools as a high school math teacher and she loved her students as her own.  A lover of all things beautiful, she enjoyed gardening and growing her own flowers for bouquets around her home, as well as sewing beautiful items for her family.  She was a fantastic cook who made the best pecan pie muffins and chocolate pies.  Her family was loved and her grandchildren were loved even more.   She was a devoted Christian who served prominently in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, and later attended the First United Methodist Church in Troy, AL.  Linda was a smart, talented, loving lady who will be missed by her family and friends.

Survivors include her two daughters, Elizabeth Starling (David) and Angela Beck (Tony); grandchildren, Courtney Beck Black (Austin), Chandler Beck, Mary Margaret Starling May (LC), Anna Starling; sister-in-law, Shirley Silverman; and many beloved cousins.  She was preceded in death by her husband, Leon Dykes; parents, Emmett and Mary Elizabeth Stricklin; grandson, Hunter Russell Starling; and brother, Curtis Stricklin.

The family would like to extend a word of gratitude to her caregivers, Fannie Croswell, Earlene Copeland, Carol Lee and the staff of Compassus Hospice, as well as Dr. Eric Law.  Memorials may be made to First United Methodist Church, American Heart Association, or to PEO, Philanthropic Education Organization, at peointernational.org of which Linda was a founding member of the local chapter. Family and friends may leave online condolences at www.greenhillsfuneralhome.net.  The staff of Green Hills Funeral Home is honored to serve the Dykes family.

Betty Jean Browning Fulton

Betty Jean Browning Fulton (or BJ as her friends and family knew her) residing in Troy, AL, age 95, graduated from this earth to her heavenly home about noon on July 16, 2022.

Betty was born August 19, 1926 near Chase, Kan. She graduated from Chase Rural High School in 1944 and then attended College of Emporia (the Presbyterian college in Emporia, KS).

A Chase, Kansas farm girl with a very strong will; she was a breast cancer survivor, scarlet fever survivor, and Dust Bowl survivor. Always a lover of reading and music, she majored in Library Science and was an organist, piano teacher, and folk dance teacher. Betty loved playing cards (especially single and double solitaire), and she was quite the ballroom dancer and square dancer. Her friends often commented on her wittiness and clever anecdotes. She also loved sewing, crocheting, bird-watching, raising Labrador Retrievers, traveling abroad, and meeting with family for reunions.

Betty spent her working career beginning in Manhattan, Kansas with her first husband, Kenneth E. Bradfield, running a men’s boarding house while Ken finished his engineering degree at K-State after WWII. Then, in Topeka, Kansas, Betty was a secretary for Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. After moving to Hutchinson, Kansas, she chose to be a housewife and engaged parent while her children were young, and then returned to work – first as a secretary at Ultra Van Inc., then as an engineering secretary and then patent attorney’s secretary with Cessna Fluid Power in Hutchinson, Ks. When Eaton Corporation bought Cessna, Betty was transferred to Minneapolis, Minnesota where she worked as advanced engineering secretary for Eaton Corp. until she retired.

After retiring, Betty moved to Smyrna, TN where she was an active member in First United Methodist Church of Smyrna (where she met her second husband of 16 years, Printiss Fulton). She was also active in Eastern Star and in her local Senior Citizen’s Group.

Survivors include: her two children, Gwenneth Jean Threadgill (Gene) of Troy, Alabama; and Kevin Earl Bradfield (Jeanette) of Concord, California; stepsons Keith Fulton (Lynn) of Memphis, TN; and Geoffrey Fulton (Sherry) of Culver, IN; grandchildren Megan Miller (Chris) of Jersey City, NJ; Spencer Bradfield of Colorado Springs, CO; Stacy Schaffer (Josh) of Gower, MO; Rachel Pritchett (Ben) of Troy, AL; and Regan Bell (Casey) of Dothan, AL; and step-grandchildren Angela Fulton of Culver, IN; Chris Fulton & family of Murfreesboro, TN; Dustin Fulton & family of Colorado Springs, Co; Rodney Fulton II and family of San Diego, CA; and Lori Kairdolf and family of Brentwood, TN.

Great-grandchildren were her delight. She had eight: Leah Jean Bell, Austin Brian Pritchett, Forrest Browning Bell, Anna Grace Pritchett, Sadie Louise Bell, Caleb Ryan Bell, Clara Rose Schaffer, and 7- week old Elizabeth Ann Miller.

Other survivors include several nieces, nephews, and a lot of friends.

Betty was blessed beyond words with her children, grandchildren and most of their families coming to Troy for a final visit a week before her departure.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Printiss Fulton; her parents, Earl and Olive Browning of

Chase, KS; her five siblings: Merle Folger, Orville Browning, Lila Peake, Lois Ruth Schreuder, and Doris Jones; and her stepson, Rodney Fulton.

Following her wishes, no memorial services will be conducted. Memorials may be given to Shriner’s Children’s Hospital or First Baptist Church of Troy, AL – Missions Ministry.

Billy Wade Griffin

Billy Wade Griffin, age 63, a resident of Troy, died Sunday, July 17, 2022 at Troy Regional Medical Center. Graveside services will be held on Monday, July 25, 2022 at 2 pm at Belser Cemetery with the Rev. Glen Kidd officiating and Dillard Funeral Home of Troy directing. Visitation will be held on Monday, July 25, 2022 from 1 pm until 2 pm at Dillard Funeral Home in Troy.

He is survived by his daughter: Lakin(Kelli), his grandchildren: Hunter and Kadence Robertson, his mother: Christine Griffin, his siblings: Bobby, Betty(Rick), Ruby(James), John(Nan), and Christina(Stephen), as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, and close friends that became family.

Serving as pallbearers will be Benjamin Kilpatrick, Zachery Kilpatrick, Trent Green, Tyrell Kirksey, Gavin Mortellaro, Eric Mortellaro, Jamie Kilpatrick, Tommy Kidd, Jr., and Steve Flowers.

The family would like to thank Mark Brantley and Freddie Turner for all of their help during this difficult time.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Dillard Funeral Home to help with funeral expenses.

To sign the online guest register please visit our website at dillardfh.com.