Kathleen Brown, 64, took good care of her handicapped granddaughter, Amanda Davis, and was well known at Oakman Elementary School. "Kathleen Brown was a wonderful woman," said Principal Dennis Willingham. "She was a loving grandmother."
Amanda was born with spina bifida and couldn't walk, said teacher's aide Ann Gilbert. Brown stepped in to care for Amanda, her son's daughter. "She just took over and raised her," Gilbert said. "She was good to her, too."
Brown cared for Amanda until she died at age 12, four years ago. "Anytime we needed anything, we'd call Kathleen," Willingham said. "She was very supportive of the school."
On April 27, the house where Brown was visiting friends was torn off its foundation and thrown into the woods. She died. A younger couple, both injured, survived and were taken to UAB Hospital. Their 4-year-old son was unharmed. Willingham saw the destroyed house and visited the boy, who's doing fine, living with a relative. "It's amazing anyone survived," he said.