Annie Belle Upchurch

Annie Belle passed away peacefully on January 18, 2016. For the past two years, she made her home in Wake Forest with her daughter and son-in-law. Born December 10, 1921, she was one of seven children born to Jessie Allison Murray and Annie Bryant Murray, and was preceded in death by all of her siblings; brothers Rodney, Thurman, Alvin and J.D. Murray, and her sisters Daisy Pearce and Marie Woodard. Annie Belle was also preceded in death by her husband, Williford Gorman Upchurch, to whom she was married for fifty-six years, and a daughter, Annette Upchurch Rhue. She is survived by her daughter Gayle Fuller and her husband, Jim; granddaughter, Lorie F. Ingram and husband Brian, and their three children, Carson, Lauren and Alex; grandson, Scott Fuller and wife Sharon, and their three children, Kylie, Caroline and Olivia; and grandson Brian Rhue and wife Rebecca, and their four children, Ariel, Marleigh, Gabriel and Naomi. She is also survived by 14 nieces and nephews, all of whom she loved dearly.

Annie Belle was born and raised in Zebulon, NC, and graduated from Wakelon High School. She later attended Hardbarger Business College. Shortly after marrying in 1940, she and her husband moved to Raleigh, where she began her career at Dorothea Dix Hospital. She also worked at Ravenscroft and Boylan Pearce before going to work in the Financial Security Section at the Department of Motor Vehicles. She retired from state government after twenty-three years of service.

Her favorite pastime was baking and cooking. She could always be found in the kitchen, and was an excellent cook. Cakes were her specialty, and to many she was known as “the cake lady”. One of her cakes was even auctioned off at a church raffle for $125, with the proceeds going to benefit a youth mission trip, and her fruit cake won 3rd place at a News & Observer event. Her other favorite thing to do was to bake cookies with her great-grandchildren. These were the happiest times to her.

Church was a very important part of Annie Belle’s life. She was a member at North Street Baptist Church for more than 60 years before the church was renamed and moved. She has been a member at Longview Baptist Church since 2009.

Annie Belle loved God, family, friends, cooking and baseball. She especially loved the Atlanta Braves. She lived by the Golden Rule of Matthew 7:12, “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.” She was loved by all who knew her and will forever be in our hearts.

A funeral service will be held at 1 pm Monday, January 25, 2016 at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home 300 Saint Mary's St. Raleigh, NC 27605. The family will receive following the service. Entombment will be held privately at Historic Oakwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, it is requested that donations be made in her memory to one of her favorite charities: Hospice of North Carolina, the American Heart Association, or Longview Baptist Church.