Madaline B. Gillespie 1906-2003 Obituary
Madaline Burke Gillespie, 96, of White Sulphur Spirngs, passed away quietly Thursday morning, Oct. 2, 2003, at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Fairlea.
Born Feb. 8, 1906, in Sand Fork, she was the oldest of four daughters of the late Edna Burke Simms and Richard Ford.
also preceding her in death were three sisters, Eva Rhodes, VIrginia Burke Ford and Enzie Simms; two brothers-in-law, Morgan Singleton and Wilford Gillespie; and two sisters-in-law, Mary Blake and Emma Singleton.
Mrs. Gillespie taught public school for 42 years. She started out teaching in a one-room schoolhouse on Lynch Run in Gilmer county. She received her bachelor of arts degree in teaching from what is now Glenville State College in 1935. She taught first-grade at White Sulphur Springs Elementary School for 32 years where she even had her own grandchildren in her classroom.
She was a member of the Ladies Circle at Emmanuel United Methodist Church where she was a member. She was a member of the Delta Kappa Gamma teachers’ society and the West Virginia Retired Teachers Association.
She also taught Sunday School, and tutored privately many a young student in reading, writing and arithmetic skills. Her name is also on a memorial dedicated to a one-room school house teachers located at Cedar Creek State Park in Gilmer County.
She is survived by one daughter, Patty Lee Gillespie Henson and son-in-law, Hershal Henson, of White Sulphur Springs; three grandchildren, Richard Lee Haveron, Melinda Sue Jones and Edward Lee Anderson, and their spouses, Donna Haveron, Greg Jones and Gina Anderson; eight grandchildren, Melissa and Amy Haveron, Jessica Massie, Kelsey Jones, Trista Jones, Jimmy Anderson, Emily and Genna Anderson; and one great-great-grandchild, Jordan Anderson.
Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. today in the Emmanuel United Methodist Church in White Sulphur Springs with the Rev. Brent Sturm officiating. Burial will follow in the Mapledale Cemetery, Route 92, White Sulphur Springs. The family received friends from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at the Shanklin Funeral Home in White Sulphur Springs. Shanklin Funeral Home of White Sulphur Springs is in charge of the arrangements.
Madaline B. Gillespie 1906-2003
