Cousin John Lakin Brasher, who preached an hour-long Methodist sermon for his 100th Birthday Celebration

P. S. Got the last cheap copy of the book by the grandson, Cousin J. Lawrence Brasher, The Sanctified South. Notice that Find a Grave has John Lakin Brasher dying in 1961, contrary to the 100th birthday celebration below. Click on the tombstone and you see that the year is 1971. Some of us lived a long time. Name: Rev. Dr. John Lakin BRASHER Sex: M Birth: 20 JUL 1868 in Etowah County, Alabama Death: 25 JAN 1971 in Etowah County, Alabama Burial: Brasher Church Cemetery, Brasher Spring, Etowah County, Alabama Note: Dr. John L. Brasher was a famous Methodist minister, who lived at Attalla, Alabama, where at his 100th birthday celebration, he preached an hour-long sermon. He owned a Methodist boook, printed in 1818, and inscribed "James Brasher, Sr., his book." According to his obituary, he was survived by three sons and four daughters, but the 1910 Census of Marshall Co., AL names a boy not listed in the obituary. In one news article about his 100th birthday: "Dr. Brasher has lived long enough to see his son, the Rev. James Hendricks Brasher, reach retirement age. He retired at the annual meeting of the Philadelphis Conference earlier this year." At Birmingham Southern College, shortly before his 101st birthday, he preached a memorial service for conference members who had died during the previous twelve months. In his sermon, he recalled the history of the Chrisian Church from the death of Jesus to the present, placing special emphasis on the spiritual side of the faith. His profound sincerity and quick wit frequently stirred the audience of several thousand delegates from near tears to outbursts of laughter. It left little doubt that heis not only the oldest member of the conference, but one of the most aware. "It's not the wrinkles on the face that makes folks old. It's the wrinkles on their spiritual life," proclaimed Dr. Brasher, who limits his sermons to "whenever I feel up to one." He lives on the family's old home place at Brasher's Springs, some seven miles west of Attalla. (from B'ham News, Wed, Jun 11, 1969)