About half the town of Gainesboro, Tennessee, and assorted relatives from near and far gathered at Helen's Restaurant to celebrate my Aunt Joy Brown's 95th birthday. Aunt Joy is a special lady and deserves these yearly accolades, which have turned into a major event. In this picture from left are Hamp Mabry (my mom and Joy's younger sister--Mom is 88), Aunt Joy, and their cousin, Glenn Ragland (who is nearing 90 herself). Glenn and family traveled all the way from Memphis today to surprise Aunt Joy on her special day.
After the party, relatives gathered at Aunt Joy's house to visit, tell stories, laugh, and make lots of noise. Here are sisters Joy Brown and Hamp Mabry.
These two cousins finally got to meet. They were born a day apart in August, 2006. On the left is Landon Brown, who lives in Texas, and Elijah Myers. They hit it off big time and had the best time playing together.
The family group shot. From top left: Kathy Brown, Lowell Brown, Don Foy, Jane Foy, Kay Ranft, Ann Sissom, Tom Brown, Neil Ranft & Terry Sissom. Middle row from left: Mike Brown, Joy Brown, Landon Brown, Hamp Mabry, Shelby Myers, Julia Foy & Elijah Myers. Front row from left: Ken Mabry, Kelly Kimbrough, Holly Myers & Tony Sircy. This bunch always has a great time when we manage to get together, which isn't as often as we'd like any more. Happy birthday, Aunt Joy! Wishing you many more!