Lillian Campbell

Born:  June 11, 1920 - Coeburn, VA     Died:  December 7, 2011 - Lewisville, NC Lillian Elizabeth Blackburn Campbell, age 91 of West Jefferson, NC, passed away at her son-in-law's Lewisville, NC home Wednesday morning.  Mrs. Campbell had been battling the effects of a stoke she suffered on Christmas Day 2010.  Waiting to greet her at Heaven's gate was her Savior Jesus Christ along with her husband of 54 years, Bower E. Campbell; her parents Rev. and Mrs. Edward E. Blackburn, Sr.; her in-laws Mr. and Mrs. David Hilton Campbell; one brother Edward E. Blackburn, Jr.; three sisters-in-law Edith Winkler Campbell, Ruth Campbell Houck, and Bobbie Campbell Edwards; four brothers-in-law Homer S. Gentry, Oscar D. Houck, Paul G. Campbell, Sr., and Shirley D. Rountree and a multitude of other family members and friends. She is survived by her four children; Barrie C. Davis of Lewisville, NC; Bonnie B. Campbell of Hickory, NC; Debbie C. Wall of Advance, NC; and John M. Campbell of Midlothian, VA.  She is also survived by son-in-law Robert E. "Bob" Wall of Lewisville, NC who has been her primary care provider since her stroke in 2010.  No one could have cared and provided for Lillian as lovingly or as attentively as he. Also surviving their Mamaw are nine grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and a great-great granddaughter who will just miss meeting her. Mrs. Campbell is survived as well by two sisters, Vivian Blackburn Gentry of Abingdon, VA and Brenda Blackburn Rountree of Virginia Beach, VA; one brother, Ben T. Blackburn, Sr. and wife Betty Younce Blackburn of Cherryville, NC; sister-in-law Wynona Buchanan Blackburn of Virginia Beach, VA; and brother-in-law Thomas Kinney Edwards of West Jefferson, NC.  Many nieces and nephews also mourn her passing. Mrs. Campbell loved the Lord with all her heart and continuously spread His good news to all she met.  She taught Sunday School for over 50 years with rarely missing a Sunday.  Although never ordained by man as a minister she was often asked to speak at churches of all denominations around the area and she was especially renowned for her telling of the Christmas and Easter stories.  She also assisted in many local funerals of family and friends. She served her country during World War II by heading off to Pennsylvania to work in the steel mills and also in the shipyards as a welding inspector.  Bower, her late husband, used to tease her and say that was why they had so many Liberty ships break in half.  She taught the 4th grade at Nathan's Creek Elementary School during the 1970's and continued to act as a substitute teacher at many local schools into the 1980's. Friends who would like to express their sympathies and share their memories of Mrs. Campbell may do so on December 10, 2011  from 12 noon to 2pm at Bethany United Methodist Church in Baldwin Community, West Jefferson, NC.  Funeral services will immediately follow at the church and continue graveside at Bethany Cemetery located nearby. The family would like to thank all of you for your prayers, visits, calls, letters, flowers, and the many other ways that you have displayed your love and concern for Lillian, not just recently, but over her lifetime. In lieu of flowers, the family request that memorials be given to Hospice and Palliative Care of Winston-Salem, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC 27103 and to Hands of Love (Jamaro Williams), PO Box 114, Winston-Salem, NC 27102 to show their appreciation and gratitude for the wonderful care given to Mrs. Campbell during her illness. You may send and view email condolences to the family through our website, www.badgerfuneralhome.com. Badger Funeral Home was entrusted with the arrangements.