Dorothy (Dot) Kimbel Brumit

DOROTHY ROBEY KIMBEL BRUMIT
 July 28, 1925 – May 31, 2024

Dorothy Robey Kimbel Brumit, 98, of Bowling Green, KY, was born on July 28, 1925, in Fulton, KY, to Carl and Anna Mae King Robey. She died on May 31, 2024, at the Hospice House of Southern KY in Bowling Green, KY. She was preceded in death by her two faithful husbands, William Herschel Kimbel and William Alton Brumit; her parents, Carl and Anna Mae Robey; one sister Evelyn Sears; one infant brother, Jimmy Neal Robey; a host of brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law; and their extended families. 

She is survived by her three children: Brenda (Jimmy) Matthews, Darrell (Becki) Kimbel, and Phillip (Teresa) Kimbel; eight grandchildren: Leigh Anna (Todd) Boley, Amanda Matthews (Brad Connell), James Allen Matthews IV (DeAnna), Ashley (Dr. Jaime) Gordon, Michelle (Larry) Boyd, Jeffrey (Leslie) Kimbel, David (Kelly) Kimbel, Laura (Zac) Bush; seventeen great-grandchildren: Matt (Jaimie Lynn) Johnson, Zack Johnson Black, Cody Boley, Conner Boley, Wyli Matthews, Audrey Matthews-Fields, Natalie Fields, Kenadee (Wade) Watson, Laramee Boyd (Alex Walker), Delanee (Justin Wayne) Fowler, Jonathon Kimbel, Wesley Kimbel, Desire Kimbel, Bella Kimbel, Brody Kimbel, Sydney Gordon, Jamison Gordon; and four great-great-grandchildren, Grayson, Grant and Cade Johnson, Penelope “Poppy” Walker, and Chanler Mae Watson, on the way.  

Dorothy “Dot” attended South Fulton High School in Fulton, TN, where she was the Salutatorian of her class. She attended the University of Tennessee Business College, which facilitated her becoming an H&R Block Manager for fifteen years later in life. She was married to William Herschel (Bill) Kimbel from September 12, 1945, to April 23, 1991, and to William Alton (Alton) Brumit from July 30, 1994, to January 25, 2013.

William Herschel (Bill) Kimbel, a man smitten from their first encounter, asked Dorothy “Moma Dot” to marry him on their first date. Despite her initial refusal, their love story took a beautiful turn. After enlisting in the Army and returning home from the war, they married almost immediately, a testament to the depth of their love and commitment. 

Dorothy’s first commitment was to the Lord and his church. Bill served as a deacon for three congregations and as an elder for two congregations throughout his life with Dot beside him. They extended their love and care beyond their own family, serving as “foster parents” to some of the mothers in Potter’s single-parent family ministry and “foster grandparents” to some of the children in residential care. Their “hands of service” ministry was exceptional. In memory of Bill, Dot donated the seed money (half the entire cost) for building a new playground for the children at Potter. Potter erected a permanent stone monument at the site of the playground to honor Dot and Bill’s devotion to Christian service and benevolence. Alton, likewise, was a long-time elder at the Park Street/Greenwood Park Church of Christ, where Moma Dot’s son, Phil Kimbel, is a retired elder today.

Her second commitment was to her children, grandchildren, and their children. Oh, how she loved her children! They were the pride and joy of her life. Even the week before she died, at the age of ninety-eight, she confessed to a lady from Greenwood Park, who came to pray over her, that the hardest part about leaving (earth) is “I don’t want to leave my kids. I will miss them too much.” The lady responded, “You are not going to miss your kids in heaven, or it would not be heaven. Your kids will miss you, but you are not going to miss your kids.” Her children are now in their seventies, and the bond they shared as children is still as strong today.

Dot loved to travel with Darrel and Becki to places like Florida, France, and especially Germany, where Alton served in General Patton’s Third Army. She also loved to play Bridge, even playing twice a week until she entered Charter Assisted Living in the fall of 2022. She received a Junior Master’s degree in Bridge when she played Duplicate Bridge regularly in Glasgow, KY. and taught countless numbers of people how to play, including her son Philip, who would have preferred to be splashing in the pool with the other kids at the Glasgow Country Club. She had a brilliant mind, reading a book a day until her eyesight began to fade. She still did her own taxes for the year 2023. Yes, you read that right!

When asked to describe Moma Dot the night she died, the family wrote down words like FAITHFUL, LOVING, SWEET, KIND, GODLY, GOD-FEARING, PATIENT, THE MAKER OF THE BEST FRIED APPLE PIES EVER, WISE, A LIGHT EVERYWHERE SHE WENT, AND AN AMAZING EXAMPLE OF A LIFE WELL-LIVED. They celebrated her keeping the faith, receiving the crown, and finishing the race she ran for almost one hundred years, even as they waited for the coroner to come. 

In the Bible Alton gave her on Christmas in 1994, his presentation gives the best description of Dot anyone could write: “To Dorothy K. Brumit, my wife, who has the power to convert a soul without a word by her good behavior.” What greater example or legacy could anyone leave than what Dorothy Robey Kimbel Brumit (Dot) (Moma Dot) left!

Visitations will be at the Cone Funeral Home (1510 Campbell Ln) on Friday night, June 7, 2024, from 4:00 – 7:00 p.m. and Saturday morning, 9:00 – 10:45 a.m., at the Greenwood Park Church of Christ building. The celebration of life will follow at 11:00 a.m.