Betty B. Breland

James & Sikes Funeral Home Maddox Chapel Betty Baker Breland passed away April 3, 2012 surrounded by family. She was born January 5, 1925 to Henry Hyer and Jane Lee Baker in Panama City, FL. She graduated from Bay High School and after a year of working in the ship yard in Panama City, she entered nursing school at Shreveport Charity Hospital in Shreveport, LA. After graduating from nursing school in 1946, she worked in New Orleans with polio patients, where she met Jabe A. Breland, M.D. They married on September 16, 1948. From 1948-1949 she worked in the operating room at The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, while her husband completed his internship. They moved to El Paso, TX in 1949 for Dr. Breland to complete his general medicine residency. In 1950, they lived for a short time in Panama City, FL where Mrs. Breland was operating room supervisor at Bay Memorial Hospital before settling in Marianna, FL where Dr. Breland established his medical practice. Mrs. Breland was a devoted wife and mother, raising their five children, as well as lending her nursing expertise to support her husband in his practice, through the years. She was active in St. Luke's Episcopal Church, where her great-great grandfather, Dr. Simmons Jones Baker, was a founding member, serving as a member of the Altar Guild and Episcopal Church Women. She was co-chair of St. Luke's Sesquicentennial Committee in 1988 and was a driving force in the development of The History of St. Luke's Episcopal Church: Our First 150 Years (1988). She was member of the Marianna High School Band Boosters, active in the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America and a member of the Marianna Women's Club. She organized and developed a training class for the Jackson Hospital Auxiliary "Candy Stripers' in an effort to teach young people about caring for patients and taught this class for many years. She was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the Confederacy. She enjoyed fishing on the Betty B, baking (her famous coconut cake), golfing, time with friends and family, time at the beach and bridge. Mrs. Breland is preceded in death by her husband, Jabe A. Breland, M.D. and her parents, Henry and Jane Baker. She is survived by five children, Jabe A. Breland, II, PhD (Jeanne) of St. Petersburg; Thomas L. Breland (Nancy) of Davie, FL; Margaret Breland Watkins (Gordon) of Palm Harbor, FL; Henry B. Breland, M.D. (Nancy) of Panama City and Anna Breland Bailey (Brian) of Tallahassee. Mrs. Breland is also survived by her brother, Henry Lee Baker (Lena) and sister, Margaret Lee (Bill), all of Panama City. She is also survived by her grandchildren Katey Breland, Jabe Breland III, Barbara Breland, Rev. Robert Roseberry, Amanda Roseberry, Ryan Breland, M.D., Luke Breland, Finn Breland, Jason Perdue, Scott Watkins, Jeremy Watkins, Brad Chapman, Todd Chapman, Jess Glenn, John Burson Sherrel and great-granddaughter Mia Perdue. Services will be held at St. Luke's Episcopal Church on Saturday, April 7, 2012 at 2:00 pm followed by burial services at the church cemetery. The family will receive visitors Friday, April 6 from 5-7 pm at Maddox Chapel. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to the Dr. and Mrs. Jabe A. Breland Memorial Scholarship Fund, c/o Jackson Hospital Foundation, 4250 Hospital Drive, Marianna, FL or to St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 4362 Lafayette St., Marianna, FL.