Eula Battle, wife of Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and an irrepressible force for good in the city of Huntsville, passed away at age 65 after an extended battle with cancer.
Eternally kind and armed with a laugh that was both infectious and generous, Eula made a friend out of almost everyone she came to know.
The office of the mayor of Huntsville made the official announcement of her passing on Tuesday morning.
Devoted as both a wife and mother, Eula was endlessly supportive of her husband, Tommy, and son, Drew.
Born Eula Sammons and a native Huntsvillian, she spent over 30 years in the classroom as a kindergarten teacher. Being reunited with any of what she called her “babies” was a source of joy.
In 2010 when state legislators were forced to cut the education budget, a previous existing $550 stipend that allowed teachers to buy classroom supplies was eliminated.
Eula, undeterred, founded the nonprofit Free 2 Teach, a charity that gives free school supplies to public school teachers in all three systems in Madison County, so they do not have to pay out of their own pocket. The charity has now distributed over $7 million in school supplies to teachers in the area.
Those interested can give to Free 2 Teach here.
The Battle family is asking that in lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to Free 2 Teach or Trinity United Methodist Church, the longtime home congregation of Eula and her husband.
“Once, after hearing a high school student talk about his hopes of being the first in his family to go to college, Eula quietly went out and purchased the young man his first laptop so he would have the necessary tools to help make his dream come true,” relayed the Mayor’s Office in their post.
Disdainful of pretense and an opponent of arrogance, Eula injected mirth and warmth into any room she entered. Many young people who came into her orbit through her various efforts across the city began to think of her as a treasured aunt or second mom.
After her husband — some of their first dates were going door to door during his unsuccessful 1988 campaign — Tommy Battle was elected mayor of Huntsville in 2008, Eula founded the Mayor’s Book Club.
The club pushed local businesses to donate books, or funds for books, to local schools. The initiative resulted in over 100,000 books for Title 1 schoolchildren. She and the mayor enjoyed their yearly trips to read Dr. Seuss in front of classrooms.
Perhaps Eula’s greatest joy was seeing her son, Drew, grow up to marry Lauren and bring forth two grandsons, George and Benjamin. Both loved going to “Ginn’s house,” and their grandmother matched their happiness in getting to see them.
Over the years, Eula earned such a voluminous amount of awards for service to her community that any list could not do justice. A selection is included in the Facebook post from the Huntsville mayor’s office.
Per the office, “Eula is survived by her husband, Tommy Battle; their son, Drew Battle and his wife, Lauren; grandsons, George and Benjamin; brothers, Dr. Robert Sammons (Louise), Dr. Calame Sammons (Dianne), and Bill Sammons (Laurie); a sister, Susan Sammons Sullins (Bill); and 12 nieces and nephews.
Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95
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