Brenda Burkett Elders, loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend, passed from this earth on September 19, 2026, at the age of 84. She was born February 14, 1942, in Huntsville, Alabama, to J.B. Burkett and Bessie Bryant Burkett.

Brenda grew up in the Dallas Mill area of Huntsville, where the foundations of her faith, family, and lifelong friendships were formed. She met her future husband, William “Buddy” Elders, at Rison Elementary School when Brenda was in the fourth grade and Buddy was in the sixth grade. She graduated with the Huntsville High School Class of 1960 and continued to cherish her classmates and school friends throughout her life. Brenda and Buddy later married and shared 66½ years together.

Throughout her life, Brenda lived in many different places, but she possessed a remarkable ability to make wherever she was feel like home. She was independent, confident, resourceful, and unafraid of a challenge.

One family story captures that spirit especially well. When the family was preparing to relocate from Atlanta to New Orleans, Brenda flew to New Orleans—a city she barely knew—early one morning. By the end of that same day, she had found and purchased the family's new home and returned to Atlanta. Concerned about New Orleans' well-known problems with water, Brenda had deliberately chosen a house that she described as being “on a hill.” New Orleans may not have had many hills, but the house Brenda selected sat about a foot higher than the other homes on the street. It was classic Brenda: she saw what needed to be done, considered the details, made a decision, and took care of it.

Brenda had an exceptional eye for beauty and a gift for creating beautiful and welcoming spaces. She was an antique dealer and loved searching for antiques, refinishing and restoring them, decorating, and recognizing the beauty and possibility in things that had a history. She decorated store windows throughout the Ohio Valley, and her talent became so well known that many people called upon Brenda to decorate their homes.

But the beauty Brenda created was about more than furnishings and antiques. She had a way of bringing warmth wherever she went.

Brenda never met a stranger. She genuinely loved people and formed friendships wherever life took her. Her Christian faith was at the center of her life, and it was expressed not only through worship but through the way she treated others.

Brenda was dedicated to attending church services throughout her life and faithfully supported the congregations of which she was a part. She treasured Christian fellowship and served God with a dedicated heart, using the abilities and gifts she had been given to encourage others. Brenda served faithfully with the East Huntsville Church of Christ and Liberty Hill Church of Christ Lynchburg Tennessee.

A passage of Scripture that Brenda's family believes beautifully reflects her life is Matthew 5:13–16. Jesus tells His followers that they are “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” He speaks of a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden and of a candle placed where its light can reach everyone in the house. He then calls upon His followers to let their light shine before others so that their good works may bring glory to their Father in Heaven.

Brenda lived her life with that light showing.

It could be seen in her devotion to her family, in friendships that lasted across years and miles, in her love for her church family, in the talents she shared with others, and in the warmth she extended so naturally to the people she encountered. Brenda did not have to announce her light. People experienced it simply by knowing her.

Brenda is survived by her husband of 66½ years, William “Buddy” Elders; daughters Terri Elders and Tina Askins and her husband, David; her sister, Debbie Howard; her brother, Buddy Burkett; grandchildren Bryant Askins and his wife, Vanessa; Andy Askins and his wife, Sarah; Courtney Askins; Crisi Askins; Addy Johnson; and Caitlyn Bullock; nine great-grandchildren; and a large and loving family of nieces, nephews, extended family, church family, classmates, and friends.

She was preceded in death by her father, J.B. Burkett; her mother, Bessie Bryant Burkett; and her sister, Betty Stephens.

Brenda's life began in the Dallas Mill neighborhood of Huntsville and carried her to many homes and communities over the years. Wherever she went, however, the things that mattered most remained constant: her faith, her family, her friendships, her creativity, her determination, and her love for people.

She could take an unfamiliar house and make it a home. She could look at an old piece and recognize beauty that someone else might have missed. She could enter a room among strangers and find friends.

And through it all, she let her light shine.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.” — Matthew 5:14

Brenda's light was never hidden. It was visible in the life she lived, the people she loved, the beauty she created, and the lives she touched. And for those who knew and loved her, that light will continue to shine.

Visitation will be Friday, October 25th from 12:00 - 2:00 PM at Berryhill Funeral Home, followed by the service at 2:00 with Bill Cantrell, Matt Choate, and Bryant Askins officiating.  Burial will be at Maple Hill Cemetery.