Belle Bradley (maiden name Martin)
From her obituary: Belle was born on March 9, 1879, the
daughter of the
late John Henry and Martha Martin Bradley. She was one of 10 children.
At
a young age she had accepted Christ as her Saviour to whom she
trusted
for her material blessings as well as her spirital needs. In 1897
at the
age of 18, she married Ezra Wooten, and while there were no children
born
to this union she reared a stepdaughter. This was a very happy
home and
one in which neighbors and friends found great pleasure until
the death
of her husband of 25 years. In 1916 she united with the Simpson
Baptist
church by letter of faith. She was a faithful member of that congregation
for 35 years. Her missionary service was to the ailing, as she
visited
the sick in their homes and attending to their physical and spiritual
needs. No one was more thoughtful to the needs of the sick and
aged as
Belle. She would spend weeks if necessary away from her home to
help
those who could not attend to themselves. In 1927 she married
George W.
McKee who preceded her in death just 3 years ago. Her sister,
Eva
Jackson, stayed with her and patiently and tenderly cared for
her until
the end. It was truly a shock to the community of Simpson upon
hearing of
the death of one so loved and appreciated as Belle McKee. Even
though she
had been ill for the last three months no one was expecting the
71 year
old matriarch to go so quickly. Funeral services were held at
the Simpson
Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm by the Rev. Ernest
Ammon of
Harrisburg and Jack Parrish, her pastor. In spite of the disagreeable
weather a large concourse of friends and relatives were present
to pay
their last tribute of respect. The esteem in which Belle was held
was
evident by the beautiful floral offerings. Her body was taken
to Zion
Cemetery for interment.
Contributed by John R. Ragains, July, 1998 from Murlie Ragains
collection.