Obituaries

Eula Mae Cotham (Braden) Sowell, 98, peacefully departed this life on Sunday, February 15, 2026, surrounded by her loving family and extended family at her home in Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville services will be Friday, February 27, 2026 beginning with visitation at 11 am and funeral service to follow at 12 noon at West Broadway Church of Christ, 3921 W. Broadway, Louisville, Kentucky. Tennessee services will be Saturday, February 28, 2026 beginning with visitation at 11 am and funeral service to follow at 12 noon at 2nd Avenue Church of Christ, 720 2nd Avenue North, Lewisburg, Tennessee. Interment will be in Beechwood Cemetery, Lewisburg, Tennessee.

Eula was born on November 25, 1927, in Giles County, Tennessee, to the late Eugene and Arlie Cotham. At an early age, Eula professed Christ as her personal Lord and Savior and was baptized at Round Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Lynnville, Tennessee, where her first husband, Edward Braden, was a member. She was united in marriage to Edward Braden, and to this union Patricia and Gene Braden were born, along with four additional children whom she lovingly embraced. After Edward’s passing, she later married Mitchell Sowell. She joined her husband in becoming a member of Second Avenue Church of Christ in Lewisburg, Tennessee.

Following Mitchell’s passing, Eula moved to Louisville, Kentucky, purchasing a home next door to her daughter Patricia. Determined to find a church home where she truly felt she belonged, she eventually found that home at West Broadway Church of Christ. She moved her membership from Tennessee and remained a faithful member there until her passing.

Eula was preceded in death by her parents; her husbands, Edward Braden and Mitchell Sowell; her brothers, James and Roy Cotham; her sisters, Sara Mootry and Bettye Bonner; her sons, Gene Braden, Edward Martin, Edward Jordan (Jurdie), Ernest Braden, and Bobby Braden; her grandchildren, Bobby Braden, Jr., Jeffrey Moore, and Richard Ernell Crutcher; Son-In-Law, Danny Williams along with many other beloved family members.

She is survived by her daughters, Patricia Braden Williams of Louisville, Kentucky, and Mary Elaine (Braden) (Owens) Bodenhamer of Nashville, Tennessee; daughter-in-law Anna Armstrong Braden of Virginia Beach, Virginia; a host of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, nieces, nephews, extended family, and friends who cherished her deeply.