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  • Purple ribbons represented Braylee Henry on Tuesday, before and during her funeral in Velma.

    Purple ribbons represented Braylee Henry on Tuesday, before and during her funeral in Velma.

  • A Velma fire truck is adorned with a purple ribbon on the day of Braylee Henry’s funeral Tuesday. It was her favorite color. Derrick Miller/The Duncan Banner

    A Velma fire truck is adorned with a purple ribbon on the day of Braylee Henry’s funeral Tuesday. It was her favorite color.
June 13, 2012

Count your blessings

Community packs V-A gym for Henry’s funeral

Toni Hopper The Duncan Banner

VELMA — Athletes get a send off party when heading to a championship game. Braylee Rae Henry, who loved basketball, got her farewell Tuesday, from beneath the goal where she scored many points.

Surrounded by family and friends, Henry’s final game was played out in the Velma-Alma gymnasium, as they remembered her for the smiles and energy she shared during her 16 years of life.

And it was done with exclamation points — which the crowd learned was something Henry loved to use when writing.

The service opened with Velma Baptist Church  Pastor Cody Deevers sharing an autobiography of sorts, written by Henry, for a school project.

Each chapter, which was only a few sentences, began with her birth and continued through college, marriage and children.

Deevers, who also led the candlelight vigil held Thursday, shared Henry’s own words, reminding everyone that she would want them to rejoice life.

Henry’s vision of her future included marriage to actor Channing Tatum and motherhood to twin boys.

“Wouldn’t that have been something, to have Channing Tatum here at the Velma gym,” Deevers said. It brought laughter.

The autobiography also was filled with many exclamation points, Deevers shared.

A community remembers

Driving into Velma from Duncan on State Highway 7, purple ribbons began appearing on posts three miles from the small community of about 800 residents. And throughout the community, wherever a ribbon could be tied, it was, from signs, trees and even vehicles, including Velma Fire Department fire trucks. Ribbons were tied also to the gymnasium parking lot fence.

The gym, which holds 1,500, quickly filled to standing room capacity only. One half of the floor seating filled with Henry’s family. Velma-Alma Public School District faculty and some students, gave up their seats on the other side, for more members of Henry’s family. Several rows were filled with Henry’s fellow Lady Comets basketball team members and FFA members, who wore their respective uniforms.

Her Comets letter jacket also was displayed near her casket beneath the basketball goal, along with poster-sized photographs in frames and flowers of every color.

In the gym lobby, a table was adorned with display boards filled with pictures of Henry and her friends. During the service, those pictures and many more were shared through a slideshow. Pictures of her showing sheep, playing basketball, making funny faces and wearing the latest fashions.

One of those framed photos showed Henry and one of her best friends, Samantha Moore, with the words “Count Your Blessings . . .” at the top of the image.

VA Principal Mike Thompson said that sentiment fit Henry perfectly.

Also, Carrol Milner, former pastor of Countryside Freewill Baptist Church, spoke during the service.

“What does it take to get us to stop? What does it take to get Velma to stop,” he said, talking about the busy schedules everyone leads in their daily lives in their quest to work just to buy “stuff.”

VA Superintendent Jerry Garrett said later in the day, that when those words were spoken, he looked around and everyone was still.

“It was like everyone was petrified. Those are pretty powerful words.”

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