Palmira "Honey Bee" Braswell passed away Wednesday night at the age of 84, according to Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones.
Braswell was well-regarded as a pioneer of local radio, working as Macon's first black female radio DJ.
Georgia Music Hall of Fame inductee Alan Walden, who managed the likes of Otis Redding and Clarence Carter, fondly remembered listening to "Honey Bee" as a teenager in the late 1950s.
"She played all the good records, and she was very popular at the sock hops," he said.
Alice Bailey, better known on-air as "the Party Doll," was the area's second black female on radio but was considerably younger than Braswell.
"She was a star in my childhood but she always took the time to acknowledge me," Bailey said. "She always had something encouraging to say to me."
WMAZ's Del Ward remembers profiling Braswell several years ago but for her impact as an educator, not a DJ.
"She was just an outstanding person," Ward said. "She did a great deal to better education for the whole community."
It was this side that stuck with Newton Collier, a Maconite who played horns for Sam & Dave. To him, Braswell was more than just a radio personality.
"The woman has been an inspiration to me," he said. "She knew my family."
It was growing up around Braswell that helped him make the most of his talents.
"She was very sharp--she pushed me to stop playing around and do some things with my life."
He said he'll always remember Braswell, inside and out, as "such a beautiful woman."
It wasn't just her kindness or her charm that Bailey remembers. It was the statement she made in the world.
"She dressed like a lady, like she always had somewhere very special to go--even if it was just Kroger."
Walden summed up his feelings about "Honey Bee" this way: "She was very cool. Certainly one of our real pioneers."
Jones said Braswell passed away of natural causes, "surrounded by her family and loved ones."
The funeral for Palmira Braswell will be Tuesday, July 17, at 2 p.m. at the Greater Allen Chapel AME Church 290 Pursley Street in Macon's historic Pleasant Hill neighborhood.