Brenda Lou Mings passed away on Monday, March 23, 2015 in Springfield, MO at the age of 55. She lived her life with an optimistic spirit and a loving heart for family, friends and her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Brenda was an avid tennis and mahjong player, and supporter of Greenwood Laboratory School where she served as PTA President and was awarded the Outstanding Friends of Greenwood Award. She had been an active member of Covenant Presbyterian Church, teaching Sunday school and Bible school, and later First & Calvary Presbyterian Church. Brenda had a gift for the domestic arts and loved gardening, home decorating, scrapbooking, cooking, photography, and fashion. She loved her co-workers at Chico’s and enjoyed helping her customers pick out just the right outfit. But Brenda’s heart belonged to her family, and her daughters Jennifer and Christen were the center of her universe.
Brenda was proud of her roots in the Amish community of Kalona, Iowa and collected memorabilia and artwork from that area, as well as antique quilts and table linens. She attended Mid-Prairie High School and Kirkwood Community College where she received her associate degree in accounting.
Brenda is survived by her father, Phillip Ward Preston, her step-mother, Susie Preston, her brother, Gregory James Preston, her sister, Laura Lea Preston Rios, and her daughter, Christen Leigh Mings. She was met in Heaven by her paternal grandparents, James Claude and Eldora Louise Preston, her maternal grandparents, Carl Hoyt and Sarah Corine Howell, her mother, Karolyn Kay Howell Preston, and her daughter, Jennifer Lynn Mings.
A Celebration of Life Service honoring Brenda will be held at First & Calvary Presbyterian Church on Monday, March 30 at 2:00 p.m. A private family burial will be held at Rivermonte Memorial Gardens.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, 4301 W. Markham Street, #816, Little Rock, AR 72205. Brenda was very grateful to the Institute and Dr. Bart Barlogie for their compassionate care and groundbreaking treatment over the past seven years.