In Loving Memory of Anna Belle Pierce Brannon

A VERY KIND LIGHTHEARTED CARING WOMAN
by Rick Smith

Anna Belle, which was know as Aunt Belle by most of us and as Granny by a few, was one of the most wonderful people you could meet on the face of this earth.  She never took anything for granted and was always there to listen when you needed to talk about something.  She said what she meant and she meant what she said.  There was nothing fake about this woman.  She was honest and lived through her life caring about other people.  She would give you the shirt off her back if she knew it would make you a better person.  Her goal in life was to help other people grow into loving and caring individuals.  

She never knew a stranger.  If you ignored her when you walked by she would let you know it making sure you acknowledged her in one way or another.  She believed in communication.

She pushed people to try things that some thought was risky, but she did it so individuals would learn from their experiences.

Most of us liked to stay with Aunt Belle for a week or so because it gave us another perspective on life.  She was a great cook but never liked to clean up afterwards, so we would always volunteer to wash up the dishes after a meal so she would cook some of her wonderful food.  She was very good at canning as well.  Not just vegetables from her garden, but making jams and jellies from freshly picked berries we picked from the woods behind her house.

She loved to travel.  She was always going some where.  Eventually she gave up trying to keep a home of her own and decided to live with other people, family and relatives.  This kept her from being tied down to one location and allowed her to travel from place to place. 

She might not have had a material home of her own to live in when she passed on, but I guarantee you she was always at home where ever she was staying.  She was proof that home is where the heart is.

She was the oldest of the female siblings and she outlived all of them.  She watched as they were born and then as they passed on, one by one.  Her older brother, Harvey, the oldest was the first sibling to pass on after a fiery truck rollover accident near Clarksville, OH.  She told me of a dream she had about being on a rock in the middle of water and nobody else was around, which is symbolic of her being the last Pierce sibling living.

I am sure they are all happy and together now, playing euchre or some other common game and enjoying their time together in heaven along with all of our relatives that have passed on.

Aunt Belle is missed by those of us still living on this earth.  She left behind many wonderful blessings in the good deeds she performed while among us.  

Because of her, we are all much better individuals and can live our lives more independently because she not only lived among us, but was a part of each and every one of our lives.  She lives on in each and every one of our hearts.

Thank God for having shared such a wonderful person who could not bear children of her own, but had a hand in raising a multitude of them.