Rosalynde Johnston Hull, 75, left us on November 16, 2018, with her daughter by her side, in Daphne, Alabama.
Rosalynde Shelia Johnston was born in Aliceville, Alabama on April 27, 1943. Her parents were Johnnie and F.B. Johnston. She was the youngest of four (Pep, Karen, and Ben). Family and friends in Aliceville and the surrounding area were important to her throughout her life.
Rosalynde is survived by three children, Lynn (Will) Hays, Brad Bradshaw, and Barbara (Jim) Kelly. Gigi (as she was affectionately known) also enjoyed six grandchildren, Brandon (Lauren) Hays, Taylor (Sawyer) Wheatley, Anna (Benji) Brown, Will Hays, Caroline Kelly, and Colin Kelly.
Two things are evident as you look back on Gigi’s life – her sense of adventure and her willingness to go to great lengths to help others accomplish their goals. She was a licensed pilot, a certified scuba diver, loved to travel, and even lived on a sailboat sailing through Alaska for several months. She passed that love of adventure to her grandchildren through tree houses, playhouses, and elaborate dress-up trunks. Many days were spent at estate sales with friends, cheering on the University of Alabama, knitting, crafting, and simply embracing the friends and the opportunities that came her way. She actively hosted exchange students in her home and assisted with college applications and scholarships. Rosalynde was employed for 25 years by the Baldwin County School System and retired in 2014.
Her cancer treatments were approached in the same tenacious manner. She actively researched and sought second opinions and new treatments to give her the best chance to keep enjoying her life with family and friends. She made the decision to donate her body to science in order to keep fighting the disease through research.
One final (granddaughter’s) thought – Rosalynde would also like all of you to know that a red coat is never a bad decision. Rosalynde will be fondly remembered, and those memories will be cherished.