Velda Minton, 101, of Henderson, Kentucky, passed away Monday, November 18, 2024, at Redbanks Colonial Terrace Nursing Home in Sebree, Kentucky, where she resided since January 2024.

She was born to Anna and Ira Lee Bradburn in Blackford, Kentucky, a tiny town in her much beloved Webster County.  Life in the country was idyllic for young Velda, who commuted to school on the local train, played dress-up with the chickens and pigs, and was baptized in the running water of a local creek.  When she was a young teenager, the house burned, and the little family, including her older brother, Curry, relocated to Henderson, the big city.

One lovely summer day at a church picnic in Audubon Park, she spotted Edward Minton, a tall, handsome fella still tanned from his days with the Civilian Conservation Corps.  It was love at first sight.  They were married in 1941, a week after she graduated from Barrett High School.  Their son, Tony, arrived a year later, and they welcomed daughter, Dianna, shortly after Edward returned from Army services in the Philippines.

She loved, loved, loved so many things—the University of Kentucky Wildcats, the Chicago Cubs (mostly because their games were broadcast locally), Audubon Park, Paul Harvey, Immanuel Baptist Temple, and Community Baptist Church.  After her kids left home, Velda spent more than a dozen years volunteering as a pink lady at Henderson Methodist Hospital.  She couldn't get enough bar-b-que and homemade ice cream.  She loved the smell of laundry dried in the fresh air and fussing over her family.  She started virtually every day with prayers and Bible readings (her goal was cover-to-cover annually).

Survivors include her son, Edward A. "Tony" Minton; her daughter, Dianna Waggoner and her husband, Michael Alexander; her granddaughter, Christy Skaggs (Brian); two great-granddaughters; and six great-great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, December 19, 2024, at Rudy-Rowland Funeral Home.  Private family burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery.

Contributions may be made to Community Baptist Church or Friends of Audubon, both of which were dear to Velda's heart.

Online condolences may be made at www.rudyrowland.com.