Faye Eris Brinson Gaul

Fay Eris Brinson Gaul, known as “Eris” (also as Mama, Granny and Greatie), age 93 of Arnoldsville, Georgia, passed away on June 22. She was an only child born to Claire Kennedy, also of Arnoldsville, Georgia, and Alton Brinson in 1929.

Eris dropped out of college at the University of Georgia Athens to join the Air Force during the Korean War. She proudly served her country and while in the Air Force met and married Joseph Gaul, returning with him to his home state of California after she was honorably discharged in 1952.

During her fifty some-odd years in California, Eris gave birth to and raised four children, who in turn gave her four grandchildren and, (so far,) four great grandchildren. Being a Mother, Granny, and “Greatie“ were her most beloved roles, and she was a consummate, generous and loving matriarch.

Eris graduated with her degree in English from Pomona College in California and briefly taught English in junior high school.

Eris worked for the California State Department of Rehabilitation for many years and then for the California State Department of Corrections as a parole agent until her retirement from the State in approximately 1994. Eris was so involved in Democratic politics in California, that all of the local politicians in and around Fresno, California, where she served most of her career, knew her by name, and when she retired, she was given a proclamation by then State Senator Dean Flores, acknowledging her many accomplishments and contributions to the Democratic Party.

Upon retirement, Eris became a licensed private investigator and worked on many cases for various attorneys, including for her daughter Karen, who was a divorce attorney. She even testified in court and helped win a number of cases.

Eris also served for many years in the Air National Guard, even, for a time, alongside her oldest daughter, Barbara.

In 2003, Eris returned home to her cherished Georgia, and built a home near her extended family, as she called them, her “dozens of cousins.“

Eris enjoyed swimming and did aquarobics at the Athens YWCO three times a week, until just recently when her health prohibited it. She loved the water and recalled teaching herself to swim in the branch on the family land when she was a child, as well as “jumping gullies,“ a very happy childhood memory. Eris loved animals and had fun stories of every pet she ever had, from the dancing chicken she raised and the ox “Hoover,“ they had on the farm as a child, to her many cats and dogs over the years. She was also known to keep the raccoons and possums well fed on her back porch at her home in Georgia.

Eris is preceded in death by her beloved grandparents who helped raise her,  Mama Lily and Papa Bob, her mother, Claire Kennedy, her father, Alton Brinson, her daughter, Barbara Ragene Gaul, her granddaughter, Iris Rose, her sweetheart Alvin Moore, and her dear friend, Buster Smith. She is survived by three of her children, Ronald Gaul, Craig Gaul, Karen Gaul Schulman, (Thomas), her grandchildren, Claire, (Djamel), Cameron, (Chelsey), Dylan, (Alfredo), Brinson, her great grandchildren, Solly, Zuzu, Luke and Leia, and her ex-husband, Joseph Gaul. She also leaves behind dozens of treasured cousins, including Nancy, (John), Beth, (Danny), Linda, Charles, (Nancy), Bryant, Cannon, (Nancy), Baxter, John, (Mary Jo), Elizabeth, (Jason), Gus, Ezra, Natalie, and too many more to mention here.

The family would like to thank the caretakers at Avery Village for all the tender attention to Eris in her final years as well as Agape Hospice for their excellent care in her final days. The family also thanks Lord and Stephens East for their services, helping to lay our matriarch to rest.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, (ASPCA), Eris’ favorite charity.

Services will be held on Sunday, June 25 at 3 PM at Temple Methodist Church in Arnoldsville Georgia, 2647 Wire Bridge Rd., Arnoldsville, GA.

Lord & Stephens Funeral Homes, East, Athens, GA is in charge of arrangements. www.lordandstephens.com