My Grand Aunt Amy 'Sibyl' Dodd was the 10th of 12 children born to my great grandparents, John Henry Dodd and Mary Caroline Bragg, on Tuesday, 15 Dec 1903, in Jumping Branch, Summers County, WV.

When Grand Aunt Sibyl (she didn't like her first name, Amy, so she was never known by it and in fact would switch her first and middle names around because she preferred the name Sibyl) was just less than 3 months shy of her 6th birthday, she lost her mother, who passed away 1 month and 6 days after giving birth to her baby brother, John Henry Dodd, Jr. She had to answer to her oldest 3 sisters: Hessie, Lola and Cora 'Dale' (my paternal grandmother, who also disliked her 1st name) when it came to matters around the house.

Grand Aunt Sibyl's father (my great grandfather, John Henry Dodd) remarried on Sunday, 26 Jun 1910, in Greenbrier County, WV and then in late 1911 or early 1912 - about the time Sibyl was 8 years old - Great Grandpa moved most of the family (except for the oldest boys and little John Henry, Jr, who had been taken in by a local doctor's family to raise) to the Winter Park, FL area. Her father and older siblings helped to found the First Baptist Church of Winter Park and became charter members.

On Thursday, 14 Jul 1927, at the age of 23, Grand Aunt Sibyl married Carl C Jackson - my Grand Uncle Carl - in Orange County, FL. They had 2 sons: Carl Irvin (born Friday, 30 Mar 1928) and Charles Henry Jackson (born Friday, 3 Jan 1930).

Grand Aunt Sibyl was always cold-natured. On the hottest day of the year in sunny Florida, when she came to visit my grandmother, Cora 'Dale' Dodd Sloniger, she was always dressed in long pants, long-sleeved shirts and had a sweater at hand just in case.

In late 1970 or early 1971 she began falling around the house, being unusually forgetful and just generally not behaving as her normal self. Finally it dawned on Grand Uncle Carl that something just wasn't quite right with her so he brought her up to Orlando to see some doctors to try and find out what was making her behave so strangely. Eventually she saw a neurologist and, through whatever neurological testing techniques that were available in those days, it was discovered that Grand Aunt Sibyl had a brain tumor. The doctors operated on her but there was really no hope for recovery for her. Grand Aunt Sibyl lost her life to the brain tumor on Saturday, 31 Jul 1971, at the age of 67.

Grand Uncle Carl was desolate. He loved his Sibyl so very much! He bought the burial plots where they both now rest in peace because, as he said, "Sibyl couldn't stand the dark." So, of course, there are no trees anywhere around their final resting place and he and Grand Aunt Sibyl are lying in the full sun on every non-rainy or cloudy day.

At last, a grand aunt that I knew and saw quite a few times in my life. I am the richer for the experience. God bless and keep you, Grand Aunt Sibyl, and I'm sure He is!