Giselle Limouzi Hembree passed away on Tuesday morning November 10, 2020 at Barfield Nursing Home. She was 97.
Born to French parents on April 6, 1923 in Oran, Algeria, she immigrated to the United States as the wife of Doctor Henry Lupton Bains. They met in Italy where he served as an American navel officer during WWII and she was working in the French Transmission Corps. Circumstances meant traveling alone to her new home in the United States. Part of her journey had been arranged via a naval ship and the ship’s captain loaned her his 45 to sleep with for her protection. She arrived safely in Boston on the USS Mariposa on August 4, 1944. The couple eventually moved to Guntersville, where her husband opened a dental practice.
Widowed at an early age and with a young child (John), she considered moving back with her family who had settled in southern France after the war, but decided her son should grow up in America. In what friends would agree was one of the best deals of his career, she married a young automobile salesman, Bob Hembree, who worked for T.C. Crain at his Buick dealership. Giselle and Bob had one son,(Bob, Jr.) and both husband and son served as mayors of Guntersville. They remained married until Bob Sr’s death in 1991.
Giselle loved traveling, playing tennis and walking. Some of her favorite pastimes included reading, bridge, gardening and needlepoint; in which she excelled. She was an accomplished equestrian and exhibited Tennessee Walking horses in the 1960’s. Giselle was very involved with her community and her church, the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany. She was a charter member of the Chamber’s Lake City Ambassadors and enjoyed being a member of the Guntersville Book Club, several bridge clubs in Marshall county and a Huntsville French Club.
Giselle was also preceded in death by her parents, Albert and Antoinette Limouzi, son John M Bains and his wife, Rhonda and a niece, Martine Mestre.
She is survived by her sister, Irmette Mestre, son Bob Hembree, Jr. (Connie) and grandchildren Jennifer Moore (Jason), Beth Patterson (Cole), Sara Murphree (Tyler) and Tripp Hembree; two great grandchildren, Kendall and Jackson Moore, one nephew, Jean Yves Mestre, and one niece, Berengere Debray (Armault).
The family wishes to thank all the caregivers who assisted with Giselle’s care and to acknowledge and thank two of her very special friends, Ellen Perryman and Katherine Dahlke.
Due to the Covid pandemic, a private family service was held at the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany with Father Aaron Raulerson officiating. Carr Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to The Episcopal Church of the Epiphany, P O Box 116, Guntersville, AL 35976.
