Audra Mae Baldwin

Audra Mae Browning Baldwin, 83, died at her home in Mt. Pleasant on Wednesday, November 26th after an extended illness. Born on February 12, 1931 in Earling, West Virginia to Kennie and Susie Browning, Audra was one of seventeen children. She graduated from Man High School in 1949 and began work as a secretary and bookkeeper for Guyan Eagle Coal Company in Huntington, West Virginia. Audra married Jack Arnold Baldwin on June 25, 1954. Jack’s career as a chemist took their family from West Virginia to Maryland, Florida, Utah, and South Carolina; as a friend once commented, Audra and Jack saw the United States during the course of their marriage, but she always remained a West Virginia girl at heart. Audra and Jack were married for 57 years before his death in 2012. Audra was a born storyteller, who will always be remembered for her colorful tales of growing up in a large family during the Great Depression. She enjoyed gardening, flower arranging, and cooking old-fashioned meals for her family, but she especially cherished her role as grandmother to Elena and Lydia. She also loved her “grand-dogs,” Finlay, MacDuff, and Angus. Her family will miss Audra’s cranberry sauce, her home-made brownies, and her way of telling a story. Audra is survived by her daughters, Beth Baldwin (Steven Poulos) of Columbia, MD; Brenda Toohey (Jeffrey), of Mt. Pleasant, SC; her granddaughters, Elena and Lydia Poulos, of Columbia, MD; her sisters, Louise Wilkes of Cement City, Michigan, and Dorothy Serey (Gene), of Garden City, Michigan; and numerous nieces and nephews. Her family would like to thank the staff at Somerby of Mount Pleasant, Assisted Living 2, for providing such wonderful care for Audra in her final days. A memorial service will be held on Monday, December 1st, at 5:00 p.m. at the chapel in the McAlister-Smith Funeral Home, with a reception to follow. Memorial donations may be made in Audra’s honor to the American Heart Association. Expressions of sympathy may be viewed or submitted online at www.McAlister-Smith.com. Arrangements have been entrusted to McALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL HOME, MT PLEASANT CHAPEL, 1520 RIFLE RANGE ROAD, MT PLEASANT, SC (843) 884-3833.