Dean Shields Barnett passed away peacefully on July 24, 2013, at the age of 88 at home surrounded by her loving family. Her deep and firm Christian faith gives those who love her comfort. They know she has gone on to heaven to join her loved ones who went before her.
A celebration of her life will be Saturday at 2 p.m. Visitation is Friday, 5-8 p.m., at Curtis and Son North Chapel, Sylacauga. Brother Mike Owen, Brother Trull Hill and Chaplain Glenn Winter are officiating.
Dean was born Nov. 13, 1924, in Hokes Bluff, near Gadsden, Ala. The only daughter of Lemon and Gertrude Shields, the family moved to Sycamore in 1929 so that she and her older brother, Joe, could attend school. On Feb. 22, 1944, she married Robert O. Barnett, her brother’s best friend. They were married 61 years and 10 months until Bob’s death. Together they raised three children, Robert, DeAnn and Joe.
They also worked together at Floyd and Beasley Trucking Co. in Sycamore, where Dean retired after 37 years as the bookkeeper. Dean was a long time member of Sycamore Baptist Church.
Family and friends alike called her Mama Dean. She had a loving heart that she attributed to her special Grandpa Turner, of Hokes Bluff. Genuinely interested in everyone she encountered, Mama Dean never met a stranger. She loved to find out about peoples’ lives, their families and their experiences.
Mama Dean’s pound cakes, her own form of ministry, were shared with all who walked through her kitchen door and were given freely to any who needed comfort or cheer. Whether through the countless cookies or hundreds of pound cakes she baked for her grandchildren’s youth groups or simply by offering a slice of cake to a UPS delivery man on his stop at her home, she has sweetened the lives of so many.
Dean was preceded in death by her parents, Lemon Paul and Lilly Gertrude Turner Shields; brother, Joseph Edward Shields; and husband, Robert Odell Barnett.
She is survived by son, Robert P. Barnett (Carole), Pell City; daughter, DeAnn Barnett Floyd (John), Sylacauga; and son, Joe Barnett (Trish), Florence; grandchildren, Paul Barnett, Chattanooga, Michael Barnett, Atlanta, Julie Floyd Jones (Kristian), Atlanta, Beth Floyd Caine (Taylor), Sylacauga, Andy Terry (Angie), Florence, Cory Roberts (Margaret,) Birmingham, and Sawyer Roberts (Michaela), Florence; great- grandchildren, John Patrick Jones, Atlanta, Andrew and Carson Terry, Florence, and Selah Roberts, Birmingham. She also leaves many relatives who were all dear to her, brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews and cousins. Additionally, a host of friends are saddened at her passing.
Pallbearers are James Spencer, Andy McGrady, Chris McGrady, Winston Pruitt, Vernon Duke and Dan Schabel. Honorary pallbearers are Shirley Spencer, Ronnie and Glenda McGrady, Billy and Phyllis Harris, Bill and Kitty Sams, Ralph and Dolly Finn, Blenard and Carrie Mae Miller, Fay and Jim Britton, Gloria Osbourn, Jan Pruitt, Rhonda Duke, John and Barbara Howard, Diane and Clarence Cook, Billy Wayne Taylor, Don Guy and members of the Rosa Lee Cooksey Sunday School Class.
The family would like to thank the staff of Coosa Valley Medical Center, doctors Eltune and Campos, Coosa Valley Hospice and special caregivers, Fay, Gloria, Barbara and Diane.
Family meant everything to Dean. She requested that any family members who are able to attend to sit together. She also requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Toney Cooksey Heart Fund at Sycamore Baptist Church, P.O. Box 160, Sycamore, AL 35149, to support efforts for a heart transplant for her best friend.
Curtis and Son Funeral Home North Chapel will direct the services.
