CARRIE B. BRANCH, WITH FAMILY, AT HER 105TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, DEC. 27, 2024.
Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, was a humongous day for Carrie B. Branch, her family and friends.
It wasn’t just any birthday. It was Carrie B. Branch’s 105th birthday celebration, held at the Southwestern Veterans Center on Highland Drive.
Carrie B. Branch was born in Sylvania, Ga., on Dec. 27, 1919, to Jim and Anna Brown. She was their first daughter and joined brothers Willie, George, and Henry. She was a big sister and mother figure to her four younger siblings. Their family was blessed with nine children total.
The family tells the New Pittsburgh Courier that Ms. Branch gave birth to her first and only child, Earlene, in 1939. Shortly after, they joined other family members in Homestead.
The family tells the Courier that Ms. Branch loves children and was a nanny, babysitter and mentor to many. She worked at PPG Industries for 36 years. Her church, Greater Emmanuel Apostolic Church, in Braddock, was a second home to Ms. Branch, and she devoted many hours of service over the years ministering to anyone in need.
And you better move out the way when Ms. Branch is in the kitchen, because the family said that Ms. Branch is a fantastic cook. “Whether she is frying chicken, or baking cookies, or pound cakes for the holidays, she finds great joy in feeding people’s spirits and bellies,” the family told the Courier.
Ms. Branch later married Edward Branch, an Army veteran and former steelworker. They remained happily married until Edward Branch’s death in 2015 at 103 years old.
Ms. Branch has two grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, four great-great-grandsons, one great-great-granddaughter and a host of cousins, nieces and nephews who adore her, as they celebrated with Ms. Branch on her 105th milestone.
