Brenda Kay Priddy

On March 7, 1943 shouts of joy and celebration rang out throughout the 4-room house in Kelly’s Creek, West Virginia. The house was occupied by parents, Rollie and Hazel McClanahan and their 7 children. The reason for the jubilation was a child had been born into this beautiful family. A little blue-eyed girl blessed the home of these proud parents and siblings. Her parents would give her the name Brenda Kay McClanahan, sure has a nice ring to it. Her presence would bring some extra warmth to the humble little house that was heated with back-to-back coal burning fireplaces and a wood burning stove for cooking and baking. Brenda would be the eighth child of the ultimate number of 10 children. Seven girls and three boys.
At a very early age (14) she would find herself being a caregiver for an invalid lady by the name of Mrs. McCormick. Brenda was always a joyful person full of fun and lots of love for others. Brenda loved to sing especially southern gospel and hymns. She and her sisters often sang from the front porch of the old home place and you could hear them “singing for a country mile”. Brenda also loved cooking and baking. She was an excellent cook. Someone once said, “she could boil rocks and make them tasty”. She learned a lot of her cooking skills from watching and helping her mother cook and bake on that old wood burning stove. She enjoyed sharing her cooking and baking with others. She would deliver her goodies to neighbors, friends, the police station, fire station, post office, doctors office and serving to anyone who dropped by including the occasional repair man.
On August 15, 1959, Brenda married a tall and skinny young man named Frank Priddy. From that union Brenda and Frank were blessed with two children. A son Terry (Deidre) and a daughter Sherry (David). Four grandchildren, Nicole James, Michael Lynch, Zachary Priddy and Conner Lynch. Three great grandchildren, Colton and Ava James and Greyson Lynch.
Little did Brenda know that the tall skinny young man that she married would someday become a minister of the gospel. That meant that Brenda would become a pastor’s wife and what a pastor’s wife she would become. Serving alongside her husband, Brenda discovered that God had called her to her own ministry, teaching Sunday School, Children’s Ministries, Women’s Bible Studies, and a Coffee Ministry with the women of the community, a minister in her own right. Brenda felt that God had given her the gift of entertainment and encouragement. Always wanting others to be bigger and better. Her ministry took her from the hills of West Virginia to Colorado, to Canada and Ohio. Brenda was always striving to improve upon her gift to help and encourage others. She graduated from Charleston College of Cosmetology and when she was not working at the beauty salon she was cutting and styling in her own home. Brenda went on to graduate from the Aristotle Academy of Medical Assisting. She thoroughly enjoyed working with doctors to improve the health of others. After she retired from public employment she enjoyed working in her flowers and vegetable gardens. Brenda felt it was especially important to maintain spiritual, physical, and mental wellness. You would find her every Sunday morning enjoying the fellowship of her family and friends at Pickerington Church of the Nazarene. She also visited her local gym 3-4 times per week. So today she is rewarded for all her love and care and is now enjoying perfect health, perfect mind, and perfect fellowship. She is with Christ and all her loved ones that preceded her. She loved much and was loved much. We will miss her but will never forget her and her love and care.
Visitation for Brenda will be held on Friday, April 23, from 10 am until 12 noon, with a funeral service at 12:00 noon.
Service provided by DWAYNE R. SPENCE FUNERAL HOME, 650 West Waterloo Street, Canal Winchester, Ohio.