Brenda Elkins

Brenda Faye (Pruett) Elkins of Atlanta, Georgia passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her immediate family on Sunday March 4, 2007 after a long battle with cancer.  Brenda was born September 13, 1941 in Gadsden Alabama where she grew up and graduated from Emma Sansom High School in 1959.  During her high school years she was a member of the National Honor Society and a member of the Emma Sansom National Champion Marching Band for three consecutive years.  She was named Best Personality and Most Courteous her sophomore and junior years and was crowned Valentine Queen her senior year.  At a young age she had earned the love and respect of all who knew her because of the kindness and caring she indiscriminately showered on everyone she met.  Brenda had a genuine concern and compassion for all people.  She continued her education at the University of Alabama School of Nursing in Tuscaloosa and at the UAB Hospital in Birmingham. On October 7, 1961 she married Ken Elkins.  She was a devoted wife and she nurtured a lifelong marriage with the utmost love and respect.  During their early years while Ken was a student at Auburn University, she was employed at Burton?s Bookstore, where she became a key member of the close-knit family business.  She again earned the love and respect of all by supporting her associates and customers alike with kindness.  After college, she and Ken settled in Atlanta where she worked as a teller at the Mitchell Street office of C&S Bank. During the Vietnam War, she followed her husband to Germany where together they served their country.  During this time, Brenda had the opportunity to tour Pisa Italy, the birth home of Giovanni ( Will) Salvadori, her maternal grandfather whom she adored and loved.  She also visited other areas of Europe including Venice, Florence, Naples, Pompeii, Capri, Rome, the Black Forest, and The Rheine Valley. She visited Strasbourg and other regions in France, the ancestral home of her maternal grandmother, Mary Sedden Salvadori, with whom she shared a special bond.  Upon returning to Atlanta in 1969, she continued to work in banking at the Druid Hills branch of C&S until she took a few years to be a stay-at-home mom to her two sons, Marc and Matt.  Returning to work after nurturing them through their formative years, she had a distinguished and enjoyable career in education with the Embry Hills United Methodist Church Kindergarten from 1984 to 1988 and with Evansdale Elementary School in Dekalb County where she worked as a paraprofessional teacher from 1988 to 2004.  Brenda was honored by her peers as Paraprofessional Teacher of the Year for the 1999-2000 academic year. Brenda loved and adored her special needs students at Evansdale.  She encouraged them with attention in her own special, unique, and loving way.  After struggling in her battle with metastatic endometrial cancer, she returned to working with kindergarten students.  During the Desert Storm Gulf War, Brenda led her students to correspond with General Normal Schwarzkopf, who kindly engaged on a personal level with responses to the class on a frequent basis.  Brenda was a faithful and devoted member of the Embry Hills United Methodist Church, serving in quiet ways such as being a Communion Steward, teaching Sunday School to the youth, and other similar roles. Brenda served as a volunteer during the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games at the Stone Mountain tennis venue.  She served as President of the Evansdale Elementary School PTA from 1985-1986.  She was Vice President of the Quarterback Club at Henderson High School, and in this role she coordinated the concession tent at the Bell South Golf Classic. Brenda is survived by her loving husband Ken Elkins; two sons, Matthew Hobson Elkins of Atlanta, Marc Galen Elkins of Birmingham Alabama; daughter-in-law Lynn Elkins of Birmingham Alabama; two granddaughters, Evan Summers Elkins and Elise McKinley Elkins; three sisters, Mary Anne Gargus (Ray) of Huntsville Alabama, Marie Lankford (Bill) of Rainbow City Alabama, and Joy Morrow of Alexandria Alabama.  She is also survived by six nieces, Kim Thompson (Bill) of Oxford Alabama, Tracie Marlowe of Saks Alabama, Tina Herring (Lee), of Helena Alabama, Heather Staton (Tim) of Helena Alabama, and nephew Dr. Stephen Gargus of Tampa Florida.  Brenda was preceded in death by her mother, Lena E. Pruett, and niece Beverly Gargus Stinson.  Her kind and gentle spirit touched countless numbers of people throughout her life.  Brenda?s compassion, patience, and loving grace will be dearly missed but will be remembered forever.  The family would like to give special thanks to the nurses, and care givers of Odyssey Healthcare Hospice, to her many faithful friends who visited and comforted often throughout her long illness, and to Joyce Robinson, her personal care giver, for the extraordinary care given to Brenda. The family will receive friends at the A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral home at 2733 North Decatur Road, Decatur, Georgia 30033 on Saturday March 10 from 3 p.m. until 6 p.m. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service for Brenda will be held at 3:00 on Sunday March 11th at Embry Hills United Methodist Church, 3304 Henderson Mill Road, Atlanta Georgia 30341. Reverend Mark Sargent will officiate. Flowers may be delivered to A.S. Turner Funeral Home.  Or in lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Brenda may be made to the American Cancer Society, the Autisim Society of America, Special Olympics, the YWCA, Embry Hills Kindergarten, the Embry Hills Stephen Ministry or another worthwhile charity.