Ida Belle Willey, age 100 of Saulsbury, TN passed away on November 12, 2019. She was born in Memphis, TN to the late Alonzo and Bertha Murphy. She graduated Humes High School in 1938, and she went on to work at McDonald-Douglass American Aerospace Manufacturing Corporation in Cordova, TN as a wiring specialist in the nose cone of American Bombers, during WWII. During the 50’s she was employed as a pharmacist assistant for Katz Drug Company in Memphis, TN. She was a talented cook, seamstress, gardener, and artful crafter, and especially a loving wife and mother. She was a devout Methodist and a member of the Eastern Star.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Coleman Troy Willey, son of E.A. and Mae Willey of Jonesboro, AR; brother, Johnny Murphy of Lakeland, TN; sisters, Mattie Hasson of Ambridge, PA and Mary Black of Frayser, TN.
She leaves behind two daughters, Carol Willey of Little Rock, AR and Kaye Hayes (Carl) of Saulsbury, TN; grandson, Troy Hayes (Bridget) of Canfield, OH; two great-grandchildren, Corbin and Adelynn Hayes of Canfield, OH; two brothers, Edward Murphy of Galloway, TN and Russell Murphy of Pickwick Dam, TN and twenty-three nieces and thirty nephews.
The family will receive friends on Friday, November 15 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Memphis Funeral Home 5599 Poplar Ave in Memphis. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 16 at 10:00 a.m. also at Memphis Funeral Home. Interment will follow at Memphis Memory Gardens at 6444 Raleigh Lagrange Road in Memphis.
A heartfelt thank you to the employees of Alcoa Pines Health and Rehabilitation Center in Benton, AR for the special and tender love that Granny Ida received while under their excellent, personal loving care. Thanks to all her friends who came to visit or sent cards.
