Class of 1917

Birth: Feb. 2, 1898, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, USA
Death: Feb. 18, 1993, Rockwell, Rowan County, North Carolina, USA

Parents:
Gillon Reuben Blackwelder (1869 – 1957)
Margaret Virginia Lipe Blackwelder (1877 – 1924)

Siblings:
Harry D. Blackwelder (1896 – 1897)
Lillian Gertrude Blackwelder Bentley (1899 – 1975)
Sidney Hoyle Blackwelder (1901 – 1987)
Myrtle Virginia Blackwelder Bame (1906 – 1997)
Evelyn Lipe Blackwelder Barrier (1914 – 1999)

Burial:
Mount Pleasant United Methodist Church Cemetery
Mount Pleasant, Cabarrus County, North Carolina, USA

Source: www.findagrave.com, # 102220100.
Photo: Concord Tribune (Concord, NC), undated clipping, c. February, 19, 1993.

Obituary:

Concord Tribune (Concord, NC), undated clipping, c. February, 19, 1993.

Miss Stella Blackwelder
ASHEBORO – Stella Mae Blackwelder, 95, formerly of 218 E. Waiman Ave., Asheboro, died Thursday, Feb. 18, 1993, at The Meadows Retirement Center, Rockwell.

The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church of Asheboro with the Rev. J. C. Grose and the Rev. Lynn Upchurch officiating. Burial will be at Mt. Pleasant United Church Cemetery in Mt. Pleasant.

The family will receive friends from 7 to 8:30 this evening at Gordon Funeral Home in Mt. Pleasant and at the church in Asheboro from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Born Feb. 2, 1898, in Mt. Pleasant, she was the daughter of the late Gillon Reuben and Margaret Lipe Blackwelder. She was a principal at Fayetteville Street School in Asheboro for 17 years, retiring in 1963 after 44 years as an educator. She began teaching before her 20th birthday in the two-room Hahn School, before moving to Mt. Pleasant School four years later.

In 1930, she received her bachelor’s degree from Catawba College and later a master’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She also studied at Duke and Columbia universities.

After retiring she began a second career as a world traveler and senior citizens advocate. She helped start the  Randolph County Council on Aging in 1975 and helped organize the Salt Box, a crafts outlet for senior craftsmen. The Senior Adults Association honored her by naming its activity room for her on her 89th birthday.

During her travels, she visited every continent except Australia and even visited Russia. She was the president of the Live Long and Like It Club.

She taught Sunday School at First United Methodist Church for 24 years. She taught arts and rafts at Lake Junaluska and Camp Tekoa and lead many workshops. S was a charter member and past president of Alpha Upsilon Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, a president of the Randolph County NECA and member of Asheboro’s Women’s Club.

Survivors include her stepmother, Mrs. Susie Blackwelder of Mt. Pleasant and four sisters, Mrs. Evelyn Barrier of Mt. Pleasant, Mrs. Emily Honeycutt of Salisbury, Mrs. Myrtle Bame of Granite Quarry and Mrs. Earleen Russell of Concord.

Memorials may be made to her church’s building fund, 224 N. Fayetteville St. Asheboro 27204, or the Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church building fund, P. O. Box 237, Mt. Pleasant, 28124.