Mildred Louise Popwell Kirkland, a former resident of Tuscumbia, passed away on February 25, 2017 in Madison, Alabama. Visitation will be at Morrison Funeral Home, Tuscumbia, on Monday, February 27, from 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. A celebration of life service will be at 11:00 a.m., at First Baptist Church, Tuscumbia. The family will have a private committal service.
Mildred was born in Thorsby, Alabama, on February 15, 1928. After graduating from Thorsby Institute, she lived and worked in Birmingham where she met Reed Kirkland. On the seventh of June, 1947, Mildred Louise Popwell and Mose Reed Kirkland were married in Birmingham, Alabama, Mildred an accountant from Thorsby and Reed a Merchant Marine from Birmingham. The marriage brought together a lineage steeped in southern customs and heritage.
Through a lifetime of moves that took the family from Guntersville, Hopkinsville, Spring City, Paducah, Muscle Shoals, Childersburg and Tuscumbia, Mildred and Reed made sure the children were well schooled, had a firm foundation in the church, and were raised in a wholesome family environment.
Mildred, after having three children, attended and graduated from the University of North Alabama and taught school in Muscle Shoals, Chattanooga and Sheffield.
After Reed’s retirement in 1983, they moved to Childersburg, and lived 13 years, returning to their Tuscumbia home in 1995.
Mildred accepted Christ when she was 12 years old in Thorsby. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Tuscumbia and greatly loved her church as well as her many friends.
She was preceded in death by her father Leon Benjamin Popwell (who was killed when she was nine years old), her mother Alice Kendrick Popwell, brother Grady Popwell, sister Edith Popwell Bates, and her husband Reed Kirkland.
Mildred is survived by sons Mike Kirkland (Gina) of Raleigh, NC, and David Kirkland (Mimi) of Madison, daughter Debbie Ragans (Carlyle) of Valdosta, GA, eight grandchildren, seven great grandchildren, and sister Lois Shuff of Tiffin, Ohio, along with many cousins.
The family would like to extend special thanks to the Staff of Valley View Health and Rehab of Huntsville, Alabama, along with Good Samaritan Hospice for the comfort and care of their mother.
The family requests donations in memory of their mother be given to First Baptist Church of Tuscumbia, 203 N Dickson St., Tuscumbia, AL 35674
