Eva Elizabeth Harvey

Deaconess Eva Elizabeth Harvey, affectionately known as ''Mema'', went quietly home to be with the Lord on Tuesday, November 22, 2005 at 3:35 p.m.

She was born on February 14, 1929 to the late Campbell Lee and Eva Holmes Hill in Newtown, Virginia. She attended and graduated from the King and Queen Training School. She accepted Christ Jesus as her Lord and Savior at an early age. She joined the First Mount Olive Baptist Church under the pastorate of Rev. Robert N. Lawson. God had gifted her and she used her gift to sing solos for church programs and funerals. She also sang in the Junior Choir and later began to play the piano for the choir. She loved God's Word and for a time she was a Sunday school teacher.

In the choir was a young man who made choir rehearsals quite a challenge for Elizabeth. His name was Ruffin Harvey. She recalled many times of how he teased her and would make choir rehearsals a hard job with all his joking around. But after a ride in the buggy of Mr. William Edward Beverly, he became the love of her life. They married on October 8, 1949. To this union, three daughters were born.

In the early years before motherhood, Ruffin and Elizabeth moved to Washington, DC to start their new life together. After about a year there, they returned to Newtown due to the illness of Ruffin's mother, Mrs. Cora Bell Harvey. Elizabeth then began to do domestic work for families close to home and also to work in the fields harvesting peas, tomatoes and tobacco. She was a hard worker. In the 1960s, she began working in the cafeteria of the Lawson Elementary School in Newtown under the supervision of the Late Mrs. Nannie Gaines. After some years she became a bus driver. God continued to bless her by making her cafeteria manager at the retirement of Mrs. Gaines and served diligently at the new Lawson-Marriott Elementary in St. Stephens Church. She retired from Lawson-Marriott after more than twenty-five years of service but continued driving the bus. She loved driving the bus and loved the children that rode with her. She drove for more than forty years. Her last run was Friday, November 11, 2005.

As time passed, Elizabeth continued singing at First Mount Olive with the Young Adult Choir. She was a member of the First Mount Olive Missionary Circle and she was also a Deaconess. She and Deacon Harvey received great joy preparing the Communion on Saturday evenings for Sunday services for many years. She was also an officer of the Women's Division of the Southside Rappahannock Baptist Association and long-standing member of the Association's Convention Choir.

Due to the sickness of her husband Ruffin, Elizabeth set aside her talents of singing and playing music to take care of him. After his death, she began practicing and gaining confidence in herself and soon became pianist for the First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Sparta and New Morning Star Baptist Church in St. Stephens. She loved singing with and playing for these choirs and was a faithful servant until her death.

Elizabeth enjoyed gardening, playing the piano at any time of day or night, canning fruits and vegetables, making jellies and jams, and cooking. She loved playing games like horse shoes and Forty-Two. She loved riding and taking in the sights. Her favorite trip was to the mountains of the Sky Line Drive.

Elizabeth loved music and was a gifted singer. She sang for many functions and funerals. Her signature song was ''Precious Lord, Take My Hand.''
She shared her gifts with the old and the young, even her three year old great grandson, Davin, who loved to play the drums as ''Mema'' played the keyboard or guitar and sang. What a time! She played piano and sang with her daughters when they were little girls and were known as the Harvey Singers. They sang together for more than thirty years. She also sang with Full Deliverance and recorded CDs with the group and played herself in a play written about her daughter, Cora at the Swift Creek Mill Playhouse. She often commented about how she was so nervous but once the lights went on, the nerves went right away. God allowed her to do great work for the Kingdom.

She was preceded in death by her father and mother, Campbell and Eva Hill; her stepmother, Mollie Hill; siblings, Ellen, Isaac, Polly, Catherine, John Lee and Thomas Hill.

She leaves to cherish wonderful memories three daughters, Cora, Clara Jackson (Laverne) and Virginia ''BB'' (Richard); seven grandchildren, Clarissa, Kevin, David, Kimberly, Micah, Ruth and Joseph; one great-grandson, Davin, all of Newtown; two sisters, Darcus Hackley, Suitland, MD and Martha Cheeks, Washington, DC; two brothers, Benjamin Hill, Pleasantville, NJ and James Hill, Washington, DC; three step-sisters, Eula Mathews, Newtown, Hattie Green, New Burne, NC and Carrie Jones, Philadelphia, PA; four sisters-in-law, Lavina Braxton, Newtown, Eva Hill, Washington, DC, Rachel Harvey, St. Stephens Ch., and Mary Hill Hall, Walkerton; one brother-in-law, William Braxton; a host of nieces, one devoted, Elaine Montague, Adelphi, MD; nephews, one devoted, Willie Hill, Washington, DC, cousins, other relatives and friends, which include Jerone Davis, King and Queen Courthouse and Marcellus Dungee, Tappahannock.

We thank God for this virtuous woman who was a gift.

When tomorrow starts without me,
Don't cry and hang your head.
Know that God did heal my body,
I did not fall to a sick bed.

When tomorrow starts without me,
Don't say that I was lost.
I stand and sing for Jesus;
The One who died to pay my cost.

When tomorrow starts without me,
Don't you let sad feelings rise.
Remember, I am now in Heaven;
That Home that's far beyond the skies.

When tomorrow starts without me,
Hold your head up and stand tall.
You keep loving and trusting Jesus.
Never forget! He paid it ALL!

Funeral Home:
Cedell Brooks Funeral Home
25662 A.P. Hill Blvd
Port Royal, VA
US 22535