Yvonne Padgett Cullen

Yvonne P. Cullen died November 20, 2019, aged 80. She was born October 8, 1939 to Nina and Joe Padgett in Beaufort, South Carolina. She was predeceased by her husband Raymond Clifford Cullen Jr. who she was married to for about 32 years.

She loved her childhood in Beaufort and growing up by the water. The atmosphere there informed her whole life, she never stopped thinking of herself as a southerner and telling stories about that time in her life, even after she had lived most of her life in the north. When she was in her 20's, working, and living at her Aunt 's house in Beaufort, she met her husband Raymond who was a Marine stationed on Parris Island. When he first saw her and asked her to dance, she did not know then the extraordinary ride he would take her on for part of the rest of their lives, living in 18 places in as many years and traveling all over the world.

When they first left Beaufort, they moved to stay with Ray's parents in West Virginia and had their first son Cray. Within the next five years, she would have three more children, Victory, Todd and Troy and then when they landed in Florida, she had her fifth and final child, Kathleen.

Yvonne loved creating memories for her children and often took them to Key West to visit her Mama and Daddy. These trips were defining moments in her children's lives and they always remembered the trailer her parents lived in, the food they cooked, and the way she would hose them down after another glorious day at the beach. She loved her three sisters who lived there and in Jacksonville, Florida. They were Ann, Nina-Joe, and Myrtis respectively.  She had many friends and relatives they would stop off with on the long drives from New Jersey and Massachusetts to Key West. These drives never seemed to tire her and they would often leave one relative or friend's home in the middle of the night, after they had been talking and reminiscing, on what seemed to the children as another amazing journey.

As a mother, she was loving, fair, and gentle but quick to speak her mind about what she thought.  Some of the children lovingly called her 100 pounds of southern terror. With five strong-headed children, and all their friends, she had her hands full keeping what was sometimes mayhem under control.

In New Jersey, where they lived for some time, they were known as good neighbors who could be counted on to help when needed. Yvonne had her real estate license and enjoyed working for many years and as well as volunteered to coach Little League and in the Welfare office, where she helped children with serious physical difficulty get their exercise. When it was time to move yet further north, to Westborough, Massachusetts, she made what would become some of her best friends, her bridge group, which was a game she was good at and loved to play.  As well, she loved to read and do crossword, and jigsaw puzzles at Christmas.  She is survived by her five children, fourteen grandchildren and one great grandchild who was born just a few months ago. If she were alive today, she would want to tell all her family and friends left behind "I love you."

Funeral Services will be 2:30 PM Saturday, December 7, 2019 at Beaver Dam Baptist Church near Grays, SC directed by Peeples-Rhoden Funeral Home of Hampton, SC.

Friends may call at the church prior to services.