Dorothy Lee Rudd

Dorothy Lee “Dot” Barber Rudd, 88, returned to the loving embrace of her Heavenly Father on December 4, 2025, in the home of her youngest daughter, Christa, in Madison, Alabama, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. Born October 16, 1937, in Quincy, Florida, to Noah Choice Barber and Barbara Lee Lynn, Dot was known for her strength, kindness, and unwavering love. To many she was Dot, but to her family she was simply Nana. Dot was the second of two children and spent her childhood between Quincy and her grandparents’ home in Rock Bluff, a place she cherished above all others. Life with Big Mama, Lavada Chance Johnson, and Granddaddy Robert Johnson was simple and self-sufficient—gardens brimming with vegetables, barns filled with animals, canned fruits, handmade quilts, and the warmth of family. Dot loved the freedom of farm life, spending her days with the animals, helping with chores, and riding to and from Rock Bluff on the mail carrier’s route each weekend. As a teenager, Dot caught the eye of Byron Rudd, who lovingly pursued her until the two eloped on October 14, 1954, just two days before her seventeenth birthday. Their secret wedding—performed by a frog-gigging preacher still in his fishing clothes—is now a treasured family story. When their letters were discovered months later, Dot’s father attempted to annul the marriage, but Byron’s father stood firm, insisting the young couple be allowed to remain together saying in his country drawl, “Well, Mr. Barber, these kids made up their mind to get married. I say they made their bed and let them alone.” Granddaddy Barber was livid, but he returned home. Granddaddy Rudd advised Byron, “Don’t you think it’s time to go pick up your wife and bring her home?” Byron did just that. In January 1955, Dot moved into the Rudd home in Providence, beginning a lifelong partnership built on devotion and hard work. Dot and Byron were blessed with six children—Kenneth, Connie, Karen, Kathy, Kimberly, and Christa—who became the center of their world. Their family later grew to include 11 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. The saying, “Your children are your rainbows, and your grandchildren are your pots of gold. But your great-grandchildren are your blooming flowers that bloom for eons untold,” that was true for our parents. In August 1970, Dot and Byron were sealed with their children in the Salt Lake Temple, a sacred milestone in their life of faith. Dot was a woman of grace, resilience, and boundless love. She learned to cook and bake from Big Mama, Grandma Rudd, Etta Lucile and the women in her church, filling her home with fresh cookies, warm brownies, and endless homemade meals. She served faithfully in many church callings—Librarian, Primary Teacher, Seminary Teacher, Relief Society President, Young Women’s President, and more. Alongside Byron, they cared for the church grounds for many years and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Traverse City, Michigan from the year 2013 to 2014 in the Michigan Lancing Mission as Senior Missionaries. Her hands were seldom still. She worked tirelessly in the garden, teaching her children the value of hard work by laboring beside them and helping harvest her husband’s and then her father’s garden each summer. She canned and froze food every year, just as she had learned in Rock Bluff. As a mother, she was fierce, devoted, and steady—walking through “hell or high water” for her children. For nearly 20 years, Byron’s work as a surveyor for the Florida Department of Transportation kept him away for months at a time, leaving Dot to shoulder the full responsibility of running the household. She cherished the Relief Society sisters who taught her homemaking, gardening, cooking, and the sacred work of raising a family. Dot’s life was a tapestry of faith, family, and service. Though she is no longer with us in body, her spirit, teachings, and example will continue to guide and inspire all who knew and loved her. Dot is preceded in death by her parents, Noah and Barbara; stepmother Etta Lucille Cooper Barber; siblings Homer Virginia Barber and Beverly Ann Barber Decembrino; daughter Karen Jeanine Rudd Wimberly; grandparents Lavada and Robert Johnson; parents-in-law Edward and Essie Rudd; brothers-in-law George “Buck” Rudd, James Lamar Rudd, Willard Edward Rudd; sisters-in-law Joy Winifred Brannon Barber and Carolynn Jean Dyer Rudd; and nephew-in-law Eddie Wilson Rudd. She is survived by her children Kenneth (Linda), Connie, Kathy (Bruce), Kimberly (Kelly), and Christa (Stephen); her grandchildren Christopher (Melissa), Duncan (Terah), Adrianne (Aaron), Melissa (Ken), and many great-grandchildren; her brother Larry Edward Barber; and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, and loved ones. A graveside service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, at Providence Baptist Cemetery, 1612 Providence Road, Quincy, Florida, with Bevis Funeral Home of Tallahassee officiating, assisted by family friend Todd Wahlquist (850-385-2193, www.bevisfh.com). Family and friends are invited to gather at the graveside immediately following the service. Let us come together to remember and celebrate the beautiful life of Dorothy Lee Barber Rudd—a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, friend, and faithful daughter of God—whose love and legacy will forever bloom in the hearts of those she leaves behind.

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Dorothy Lee Rudd

October 16, 1937 - December 4, 2025