Mrs. Bernice N. Haygood, 102, of Tuscumbia, died Thursday, Dec. 4, 2014.
Mrs. Haygood passed away at her home in Tuscumbia after a long and fruitful life of 102 years. She was born Oct. 2, 1912, in Mobile, AL, to the late Allen C. Nicholson and the late Mattie Singleton Nicholson. She married the late Cleophas H. Haygood and they had two children, Cleophas N. Haygood (Wilsonia) and Maurice Haygood Minor (Julian).
Mrs. Haygood finished high school at Booker T. Washington School in Montgomery, AL. She received her bachelor and master’s degrees from Alabama State College (now Alabama State University). She taught school in Decatur and Birmingham for over 40 years.
She was also a Sunday School teacher for many years. She was an active member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the different places she lived. When she moved to Tuscumbia in 1993, she joined St. Paul A. M. E. Church, Tuscumbia. She was a member of Muscle Shoals Area Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and had been a member of the sorority for 75 years.
In addition to her son and daughter, Mrs. Haygood is survived by nieces Leah Barnett and Vera Finley (Eric); grandchildren, Elizabeth Jones, Sha-Nita Jones Brennan (David), and Alysia Haygood; great-grandchildren Rebecca Brennan, Cody and Ryan Brennan; grand nieces and nephews Erica Abrams, Edra Finley, Dennis Barnett (Tamika), and Robert Barnett; and other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents; siblings Vera Robinson, Winona Lewis and Tasmania Calloway; and grandson Taylor E. Jones.
Special appreciation is given to Courtney Abston of Amedisys Hospice Care, and caregiver Kim Morris.
Visitation will be today from 7-8 p.m. at Thompson and Son Funeral Home, Tuscumbia.
The funeral service for Mrs. Haygood will be at noon Monday, Dec. 8, 2014 at St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, Tuscumbia, with Rev. Irvin Leonard officiating
The body will be placed in the church at 11 a.m.
The graveside service for Mrs. Haygood will be noon Tuesday, Dec. 9, in Greenwood Serenity Memorial Gardens, Montgomery, AL.
Thompson and Son Funeral Home, Tuscumbia, directing.
