Remembering Vicki Braswell, a victim of the 2019 Beauregard tornado
Vicki Braswell died while doing one of the things she was known for: visiting family.
According to the GoFundMe page created by daughter-in-law Shannon Rush, Braswell died when the March 3, 2019, tornado that tore through Lee County, Alabama, destroyed the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Remy and Steve Whatley.
Braswell, 69, was in the home with two of her grandchildren and one of their friends.
The home was “ripped from the foundation and turned upside down,” Rush said.
Braswell was the only one in that home who died that day, but she was among that tornado’s 23 victims.
“Vicki Braswell was one of the sweetest, most down-to-Earth and loving persons you would ever want to know,” Beverly “Renee” Parks, one of Braswell’s sisters, told the Ledger-Enquirer in a Facebook message.
“She was an amazing mother, grandmother, aunt and sister,” Skyla Hodge, a niece of Braswell, told the L-E via email. “She was a peacemaker. … She saw the good in everybody and never judged anyone for their downfalls. She always had a beautiful smile on her face.”
Parks’ son was killed in a motorcycle accident four years ago. Braswell especially helped her grieve, Parks said, because she understood such a loss. Braswell’s daughter had died in a car accident.
“She had such a big, loving heart,” Parks said, “and did everything she could possibly do to help anyone she could.”
Braswell was born and raised in Columbus and lived in Salem. She was retired from Chattahoochee Valley Community College, where she helped students such as Ashley Temples earn their GED.
Temples, a customer service representative for the Cash To Go finance company in Phenix City, credits Braswell for providing a rare combination of support: tough love to push her through the testing and sweet understanding to empathize with her when she struggled.
“She had an awesome way about her,” Temples said. “… She was beautiful on the inside and out.”
Vicki’s death was one of a series of losses Temples has mourned in the past two years. It’s a reminder, she said, to “say how I feel a lot more now. I try to tell my family every day.”
