Monday, April 20, 2026. Brooklyn Yvonne Watkins Fullen died. She was 86. For those in Bristol and Meadowview who knew her, the news did not arrive with shock. It arrived with quiet reflection. She had lived a long life, and she had lived it with purpose. Still, her absence will be felt.
Brooklyn grew up in an era that demanded hard work and respect for tradition. She carried those expectations with her. In 1958, she graduated from Douglas High School in Bristol, Virginia. That was not the end of her education. It was the beginning of a life spent learning how to serve others.
Her faith found a home at AME Zion Church in Meadowview. That is where she gave herself to Christ. She did not keep her beliefs private. She lived them. Fellow congregants saw it in the way she showed up for services, in the way she volunteered, in the way she sat with people who were struggling. Her spiritual presence was not loud. But it was steady.
On May 2, 1959, she married James Edward Fullen. That union lasted decades. Together, they raised three sons. Their household ran on love, but also on discipline. Brooklyn did not spoil her children. She guided them. She made sure they knew right from wrong, and she made sure they knew they were wanted. Her sons now say that balance—firmness wrapped in affection—was her gift.
The family will receive visitors on Friday, May 1, 2026, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The location is the Main Street Chapel of Farris Funeral Service. The funeral will take place the next day, Saturday, at 2:00 p.m., at the same location. The Reverend Herbert Scott will officiate. Afterward, burial will follow at Forest Hills Memory Gardens.
Brooklyn leaves behind her husband James, their three sons, and three grandchildren. What she also leaves is a template: a life where faith was not just spoken but acted out, where motherhood was not a burden but a calling, and where community service was not a line on a resume but a habit. Those who mourn her are not lost. They know exactly what she would tell them: keep going, keep believing, keep showing up.