Eulylia Gwendolyn Balentine

 Homegoing Service for Ms. Eulylia G. Balentine, 76 of Huntsville, Alabama will be 11:00AM Saturday at St. Stephens P.B. Church with Rev. Christopher Collins officiating. Inhumation will follow in Sterrs Cemetery. The body will lie in repose one hour prior to service. Public viewing will be Friday from 2:00PM until 500PM at Reynolds Funeral Home. Visitation will be Friday from 5:00PM until 6:00PM at Reynolds Funeral Home. 

14-16 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:11-20 The Message

On February 15, 1948, in Decatur, Alabama, the world became brighter because of the light shining on and through Eulylia Gwendolyn Balentine. Eulylia was the eighth of nine children born to the celebrated union of the late Leroy and Eunice Balentine.  Eulylia’s bright and contagious smile infused warmth and love into her family members, friends, church family, and colleagues. Raised in a solid Christian family home, Eulylia gave her life to Christ at an early age and became a member of St. Stephens Primitive Baptist Church, where, throughout the years, she faithfully sang in the choir and served as the church's financial secretary.  

Educated in the Decatur City School System, Eulylia graduated from Lakeside High School, Class of 1966 (Valedictorian), and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from Alabama A&M University in 1970. Although she did not have children of her own, Eulylia's Secondary Education degree was well used because she became a bonus mother to so many of her nieces, nephews, and cousins, sharing her love, words of wisdom, and incite. Many of us called her "Auntie Tit," even though the bloodline connection may have been different, but she was known to spoil all of us. Eulylia indeed became a surrogate mother and grandmother for her niece Karnitha McKissic and great-niece Senequa McKissic, respectfully, after the passing of her sister.

After graduating from Alabama A&M University, Eulylia was one of six women hired by the United States government as an Army Material Command (AMC) Intern, relocating her to St. Louis, Missouri, to work for the Aviation Systems Command. Eulylia supported the Aviation Systems Command through an assignment with the Distribution and Transportation Department, where she was responsible for the logistics of military helicopters supporting AMC from 1970 – 1973.

In 1998, Eulylia returned to Alabama and was reunited with some of her Missouri colleagues at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, where she supported the Integrated Material Management Center as a Supply Systems Analyst. Eulylia was a lead analyst in the execution of the Army Working Capital Fund budget where she received numerous performance awards for her contributions.  She was well known for her profound ability to ensure the budgets were balanced at the end of the fiscal year, regardless of whether they ranged from 500 million to a billion dollars.  Eulylia served in this organization until her retirement in early 2000.

Although her Macaroni and Cheese dish was famous with friends and family nationally, Eulylia was known for comedic stories that had everyone in the room laughing, whether she was at family reunions, holiday dinners, or hanging out with her friends. She loved to dance and sing, and the word on the street was that Eulylia sang in an "undiscovered" singing group called The Triple Liberation, which was formed in Missouri with friends Frances and Sherryl. They were a local favorite and only famous to her friends 😊.

On March 23, 2024, Eulylia peacefully went home to be with the Lord, surrounded by her family. Although six of Eulylia’s siblings preceded her in death (George Balentine, Leroy “Sonny” Balentine, Mazie Hollingsworth, Alfred Balentine, Betty Jean McKissic, and Annie Ruth Harris), she leaves two sisters to share beautiful memories of their sibling camaraderie, Louise Balentine Woods (Cleveland, Ohio), and Vernette Balentine Elliott (Madison, Alabama). Additional loved ones cherishing her memories include two sisters-in-law, Mary Balentine (Dover, Delaware) and Annie Mae Balentine (Decatur, Alabama); her brother-in-law, Anthony Elliott (Madison, Alabama); her goddaughter, Belaine Allen; and a host of nieces (great-nieces), nephews (great-nephews), cousins, and dear friends.

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