Mary Audrey Roseborough, Mary Audrey Roseborough, known to many as "Granny," died at the age of 108 on April 30, 2011. Born in Gentry, Tennessee, on March 1, 1903, she was the eldest of the eleven children of John Wesley Bullington and Daisy Chambers Bullington. Her youngest brother, Charles Rhea Bullington of Boynton Beach, is her only living sibling.

Mrs. Roseborough arrived in DeLand in 1921 as the 18-year-old bride of the late Rudolph W. Roseborough, Sr. She is survived by a son, R.W. (Bill) Roseborough, Jr., and his wife Mildred, of DeLand; two daughters, Margaret Paul Jones of Daytona Beach, and Virginia Germino of Charlottesville, Virginia. Mrs. Roseborough leaves ten surviving grandchildren, Mary Wayne Wright with her husband George; Carol Berry with her husband Edd Helms, Jr., R.W. (Bill) Roseborough III with his wife Doreen, C. Paul Jones, Jr. with his wife Maria; Audrey Lee Jones with her husband Paul Etzkorn, Helen Germino Lianos with her partner David Shorto, Ruskin Roseborough, Laura Germino with her husband Greg Asbed, Renata Germino with her husband Anthony Smith, and Monica Germino. One granddaughter, Margaret Julia Germino, died in 1956. Her eighteen great-grandchildren are Robyn Voigt, Susan Kidd, Charles R. Berry II, Hal Robert (Bob) Berry, Ingrid Palmisano, Elizabeth Banks, Katherine Dopkowski, Ashley Roseborough Crandall, Kelly Hope, Michelina Jones Bowman, Paul Rudolph Jones, Maria Jane Jones, Elizabeth Etzkorn, Rebecca Lianos, Chloe Lianos, Ariana Smith, Maya Jane Smith, and Isaiah Germino Asbed. A great-grandson, Mark Voigt, died in 1998. Her twenty-six great-great-grandchildren are Audrey, Matthew, and Jessica Voigt, Christopher and Davis Kidd, Caitlyn and Robby Berry, Gabriella and Hannah Palmisano, David Takashi and Suzuna Carol Berry, Cameron Siefker, William Tyler Cheek, Beckett Roseborough Crandall, Mason, Sam, and Joseph Hope, Ethan Daniel Slaughter, John, Ashley, Jackson Mikol, and Lincoln Michael Bowman, Andru Che and Weiland Rudolph Jones, and Charlotte Dopkowski. Mrs. Roseborough is also survived by a multitude of nieces and nephews.

Audrey Roseborough was a seamstress known for her unusual creativity and versatility. She created wedding gowns, prom dresses, christening dresses, tailored clothes, overcoats, costumes for plays at Stetson's Stover Theatre and, perhaps above all, hundreds of smocked dresses and dolls' dresses for lucky little girls all over the world.

A faithful member of First Presbyterian Church in DeLand, Audrey Roseborough, together with a small crew, cooked innumerable suppers for the men of the church over many years.

During World War II, she took her only job outside her home, working in a glider factory in DeLand while her son was serving as a glider pilot in Europe.

After she turned fifty, "Granny R." began to travel extensively outside the United States, visiting her children in far-flung places, and flying for the first time in her life alone to Europe. With her husband, she circled the globe twice on freighters, visiting Africa, Asia, and South America. Travel thrilled her, a small-town Tennessee girl who as a child had never dreamed of leaving the state.

Back at home, she reveled in the extraordinary beauty of Florida. She often reminisced about old DeLand history, and remembered well both the heroic and the ugly events in the city's past. Late in life, her beloved neighbor Ann Magaha persuaded her to join the National League of American Pen Women, and she flourished in that lively company. Through her long and beautiful life she retained a strong interest in politics, proudly displaying photos of Democratic presidents and candidates, and cherishing her birthday greetings from Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Barack Obama. Her friendships nonetheless transcended differences in politics, economic status, race, religion, and age, so that her circle of friends remained strong and faithful. Her own family was united by love and admiration for her, and family members traveled from great distances to visit with her, not from feelings of obligation, but for their own delight.

When she was eight-eight years old, "Granny" began losing her vision, and with it some of her most cherished pleasures: travel, reading, sewing, and riding her bicycle all over town. She continued to enjoy each day, however, and especially the frequent visits from family, friends, and total strangers. Through all her life, she was a good neighbor. Shortly after her hundredth birthday, she fell and broke a hip, but was walking again in just a few weeks, savoring life and announcing that she had never dreamed she'd be so happy at such an age.

For five years, much of her comfort depended on the loving care of Abigail Walker Hill, a native of Jamaica. More recently, she was cared for by wonderful women from Haiti, Jamaica, and the United States. Their patience, kindness, and goodness kept her comfortable and contented despite her declining health.

In 1921, a story from the Nashville Banner announced Audrey's marriage to "Capt. R.W. Roseborough," then a teacher at Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee. The reporter wrote that the bride had "many hundred friends" who had "been attracted to her by her unusual attractiveness and splendid disposition."

Her amazing life will be celebrated at First Presbyterian Church in DeLand on Sunday, May 8, at 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be sent to the First Presbyterian Church, DeLand: Latin-American Missions, or to a charity of your choice.