Rev. Edith Marie Billingsley Dobbins' Obituary
To view the livestreamed service for Reverend Billingsley Dobbins, please visit the following links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbPnLqHJTCs
https://www.facebook.com/events/1928846914246611/?ref=newsfeed
Gifted to this world on September 16, 1934, Edith Marie Dobbins, beloved mother, grandmother, friend, and servant of God, passed away on July 31, 2024, in the loving company of her family and dear friends. Edith lived a life full of love, kindness, and devotion to her family and community.
Edith was one of five girls and six children born to the late William Edward Dobbins and Mrs. Martha Fletcher Dobbins. Though born in Nashville, Tennessee, Edith spent her formative years in Decatur, Alabama, and considered Decatur home. The daughter of a preacher and raised in a deeply religious home, Edith confessed Christ at an early age and her faith remained a central pillar of the rest of her life. In 1952, Edith graduated from Decatur Negro High School. Edith believed in glorifying God through serving people, and nursing was the profession that piqued her interest. While her family did not share her excitement for the bright lights of Chicago, IL, they fully supported her decision to study in the city of her birth, Nashville, TN. Edith matriculated at Tennessee State University and graduated from The Riverside Sanitarium and Hospital School of Practical Nursing as a License Practical Nurse. Edith would go on to serve thousands of patients at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Lentz Public Health Clinic, and on private duty. In 1990 Edith earned her bachelors and master's degree in Christian education from Emmanual Theological Seminary (Rosswell, GA) and was ordained a minister by the African Methodist Episcopal Church and pastored two congregations. In the early 2000s. After she retired from nursing, Edith transferred to the United Methodist Church and worked the next twenty-two years teaching adult Sunday School and as a volunteer chaplain at Tristar Skyline Hospital where she prayed with and comforted patients, hospital staff, and their families. Edith fought the good fight, she finished the race, and she kept the faith.
Rev. Dobbins is survived by her children, Deborah Faye Billingsley Massengale, MSSW, ACSW, (retired), and Rachel Billingsley, grandchildren, Gabriel Massengale, Christi (Seth) Rhinehart, Meredith Massengale, Tiffany, Matthew, and Isaiah, great-grandchildren, Halcyon Reihart, Clement Rheinhart, and siblings, Mary Elizabeth (Dobbins) Vaughn, Louise (Dobbins) Freeman, Willie Mae (Dobbins) Johnstone, and Jane Carolyn Bradshaw, MS, special cousin/sister, and a host of nieces and cousins who will carry forward the love and lessons she imparted to them. Edith was predeceased by her parents by Rev. William Edward Dobbins and Mrs. Martha Fletcher Dobbins, brother George Dobbins, Dorothy Dobbins, and Annie Pearl (Dobbins) Calloway, surrogate parents Mr. James “Buck” Woodruff and Annie Jo (Dobbins) Woodruff, the late Faye (Woodruff) Robinson, the late Jean (Woodruff) Owens, and the late John Woodruff.
A service to honor and celebrate Edith’s life will be held on August 17, 2024, at noon at Matthews Memorial United Methodist Church, Madison, TN. Additional overflow parking is available at AmQui Elementary School.
Spring Hill Funeral Home and Cemetery is honored to be entrusted with handling Rev. Edith Marie Billingsley Dobbins' arrangements. Please visit her guestbook to leave a thoughtful note for the family.
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