Ms. Bessie Clark has been a member of GNS for the past 47 years. She has participated in the Missionary Society, the Sunday morning and Wednesday noon Bible Study (BTU) classes. A graduate of Hernando Central High School, Ms. Clark migrated from Olive Branch to North Memphis around 1962-63. The mother of two sons, one of whom, Navy Veteran Lavern Stewart, who attends GNS. Her son Bernard lives in Jackson, TN. “I was raised in church all my life,” said Clark. “I love GNS, it’s just lovely to me.” Melrose High School and Memphis State graduate Ora Lee Marble (not pictured) has been a member of GNS for 60+ years. She received her Masters degree from the University of Tennessee in Memphis as a participant of the last class in Social Work. Marble, who held numerous positons within the church, retired and then went to work for the Smart and Secure Initiative. “Growing up in Orange Mound we were surrounded by people who cared,” said Marble who has seven grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. “These people, especially my grandfather, took care of us. We knew if we got that look from somebody, it meant sit down and be quiet. As I grew, I promoted education and especially starting with my own four daughters. My prayer was that the Lord let me stay here long enough for them to graduate college. He did that and more!” Carver High School (1981) and (1988) University of Memphis Education graduate and Shelby County Schools teacher Donna Walker, grew up in South Memphis and Orange Mound,. Walker joined GNS in the 90s. Walker received a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Phoenix in 2006. The wife and mother of two is the youngest mother on the Deaconess Board and Directress of Christian Education. She is the proud recipient of two Lifetime Wellness Teacher of the Year awardee (2016-17 & 2019-20) for Shelby County Schools for high school teachers. Both mother and daughter are Eastern Stars. The family of Mary Devould became members of GNS around 1966. Mary’s daughter Hazel Devould was the only one of Mary’s six daughters to graduate from Melrose High School because Memphis schools began busing students from their local schools to schools in other areas in the 70’s. “Hazel was the only one who graduated from Melrose,” said Mary’s daughter Shirley Cole. “The rest of us were bused to Wooddale High School and that’s where we graduated from. “My mom was determined to get us all in church when we moved to Memphis,” said Hazel. “We didn’t have a family car so mother would get a cab and other times we walked. She made sure we got involved in Sunday School and the choirs and the usher boards in order to keep us interested and busy growing up in GNS and that was the greatest blessing for all of us that has lasted into our adulthood growing up in that church being mentored and taught in that church.” 30
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