Birdie Mckinney

Birdie Mae McKinney was born on March 8, 1914, in Fayette, Mississippi to Richmond and Julia Vivens. She had three sisters, Idella, Ceola and Julia Mae and four brothers, James, Elwood, Richard and Simon. When she was five, the family relocated to Louisiana. She was the oldest of all her siblings so she took on the role of caring for the younger children to take any load off of Mother Julia Vivens. With the responsibility of her siblings she still was able to attend school. She was an excellent student and would answer the questions before the teacher could finish asking them, to the point, the teacher had to sit next to her to keep her from blurting out the answers, all the while she was anxiously waving her hand and squirming in the chair. She was at the top of her class and so dedicated to school that she would walk barefoot to school every day. She had made such an impression on the teacher that one morning when she arrived to school, the teacher presented her with shoes and washed her feet so she could put them on. She moved to Denver in 1936 and bought some property with a box car on it and developed the box car into a five bedroom, two bath house with a three car garage. She eventually converted the three car garage into a two bedroom, two bath apartment. She was a hard working woman and providing for her children was her main concern. She was a mother to seven beautiful children, Lawrence Clarence (LC), Cecil, Birdie Mae, Genevieve, Cellette, Russell, and Edna. Birdie had many occupations, so much so, when asked what she did for a living, we were unable to match answers. One would say, hog rancher, another would say homemaker and yet another would say chef. She was also a foster care provider. Whatever the job was, she made sure it was done to perfection. Her love was cooking, but her primary job was hog ranching. Oh! how she loved to cook. She had an enormous garden from which she was able to get her vegetables and herbs. She did not mind sharing with everyone either. She would have BBQs on the fourth of July and invite the family, the entire neighborhood and the church. Birdie would have sweet potato pies and hot water cornbread and tables of food for everyone to take a plate or two afterwards. She was a kind hearted person and very giving in nature. Birdie accepted Christ and was baptized into the Church of Christ. She was a diligent servant of the Lord and passed that on to her children. She has touched many lives with the wisdom and knowledge that she had. She was not afraid to speak about Jesus or give a testimony of what he had done in her life. She loved to talk about the Bible and God's goodness. Birdie Mae McKinney departed this life on March 6, 2017, in her home, in Commerce City, Colorado, with family by her side. Those that preceded her in death are her husband, Cecil McKinney; father, Richmond Vivens, her mother, Julia Vivens; her siblings, James Vivens, Elwood Vivens, Idella Clark, Ceola Lee, Julia Mae Cook; her children, Lawrence Clarence Jones, Cecil Jones, Birdie Mae Collins, Genevieve Jackson. Those left to cherish her memory and mourn her loss include two daughters, Cellette Gipson of Denver, CO, Edna Anderson of Commerce City, CO, son, Russell McKinney of Denver, CO; 35 grandchildren, 93 great grandchildren, 95 great-great grandchildren and 13 great great-great grandchildren and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and many friends.

Funeral Home: Pipkin Braswell Funerals and Cremation - 2050 Uinta Street, Denver, Colorado
Visitation: 3/13/2017 at 4:00 PM - Pipkin Braswell Chapel of Peace - 6601 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO
Service: 3/14/2017 at 10:00 AM - Forest Street Church of Christ - 3500 Forest Street, Denver, CO
Cemetery: 3/14/2017 at 1:15:00 PM Interment following the service. Fort Logan National Cemetery - 4400 W. Kenyon Ave., Denver, CO
Family Gathering: 3/14/2017 - Pipkin Braswell Reception Center - 2428 Ogden Street, Denver, CO