Bertha Davis Pearce

Graveside services for Mrs. Bertha Davis Pearce, 102, of Anniston, will be Friday, August 28th 2020, 2:00 p.m., at Forestlawn Gardens Cemetery with Rev. Ron Moreno and Kathy Burns officiating. Mrs. Pearce passed away on August 24th 2020 at RMC from complications of CoVID.

She is survived by her stepdaughter Mary Nelle Steele, nieces, Mary Alice Smith Prior, Joyce Gibbs Johnson, Juanita Green Thrasher, Hilda Gibbs and nephew Harry Gibbs and nephews Eddie Lindsey, Jimmy Stephens and niece Judy Carter. She is also survived by four step grandchildren, 4 step great-grandchildren, 13 great nieces and nephews and 21 great-great nieces and nephews and a brother-in-law, Buren Smith.

Mrs. Pearce was preceded in death by her husbands, John E. “Pete” Davis and J.E. “Buddy” Pearce; parents, William Richard and Mary Louisa Gibbs; sisters, Addie Lee Gibbs, Nancy Iverson, Emma Green, Ellen Smith; brothers, William Albert Gibbs and Buford Gibbs, step daughter, Nancy Pedersen and stepson Julius E. Pearce, nephew, Thomas A. “Tommy” Smith, and niece, Janice Thorstad.

Bertha always had a big smile on her face, but she was also feisty! She and Pete owned and operated Pete’s BBQ for over 20 years. Going to see Aunt Bertha and Uncle Pete was a big treat for her nieces and nephews because it also meant getting a delicious BBQ sandwich and lots of attention! She grew a garden, canned food from her garden, and was famous for her home-made fried pies, which she generously shared with neighbors and friends. She bought a red car in her late 80s and got a speeding ticket in her early 90s! In her 70s, she married Buddy Pearce and happily became part of a larger family. She wrote to her step-granddaughter “…now in my 70’s God has given me not only daughters, but grandchildren and even the miracle of great-grands! I sure do love his timing and cannot wait to meet each and every one of you!” Bertha was very active in her church, Bynum Baptist Church, where she was pianist and active in the WMU. She had many friends and neighbors, including her special friend, Ethel Ledford.

She had a zest for life and a love of her family that even COVID could not stop. We love her and miss her greatly.

The family is welcoming flowers, but if you would like, they welcome you to make donations, in her honor, to Bynum Baptist Church in Bynum, Alabama.