Bettie Davison Bruce, a long-time member of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Opelika, Alabama was a very faithful and generous supporter of our seminary students. Following Bettie’s death on September 14, 2011, her daughters continued to generously support our seminary students on an annual basis. Most recently, the daughters informed Dr. Karl Stegall of their desire to give a total of $250,000 in loving memory of their dear mother to establish a seminary scholarship for a Lee County student.
Bettie was born on March 23, 1927 in Philadelphia where her father, Robert (Bob) Davison, a native
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Bettie Bruce[/caption]
of Troy, was an executive with the Heralds of Liberty Insurance Company. Her mother, the former Rosalind Rush, was from Greensboro, where her father served as President of the old Southern University. Following the untimely death of Bettie’s father in 1934, she moved with her mother to Opelika where Bettie attended elementary and high school. She later graduated from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta.
Bettie married her childhood sweetheart, Jim Bruce, on March 21, 1949. They lived in Durham, North Carolina while Jim completed his studies at the Duke Medical School. Upon Jim’s graduation from Duke, they moved to Montgomery for one year before making their permanent home in Opelika where Jim joined his father in the practice of medicine. It was there in east Alabama that Jim became a prominent physician and served as Chief of Staff at the Lee County Hospital that later became the East Alabama Medical Center.
Bettie and Jim reared 5 children in Opelika---Lind, Jim, Ashley, Mimi, and Carolyn. God also blessed Bettie with 13 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Bettie sought to serve Jesus Christ in every aspect of her life. With a sweetness of spirit, she had an attractiveness about her life that was contagious. She had a servant’s heart, and was always thinking of others.
Near the end of her life, Bettie expressed her deep sense of gratitude for her Christian family. She said, “I am so proud to have had such a wonderful family. I am grateful for their Christian legacy. I realize that every choice makes us who we are and influences future generations. Give carefully and generously because you never know whose life you will influence along the way.”
We are deeply grateful to the daughters of Bettie Bruce for perpetuating the memory of this remarkable lady. Her legacy will live on forever in the hearts and minds of our Lee County seminarians and the Churches that they will be privileged to serve.
Bettie Bruce[/caption]
of Troy, was an executive with the Heralds of Liberty Insurance Company. Her mother, the former Rosalind Rush, was from Greensboro, where her father served as President of the old Southern University. Following the untimely death of Bettie’s father in 1934, she moved with her mother to Opelika where Bettie attended elementary and high school. She later graduated from Agnes Scott College in Atlanta.
Bettie married her childhood sweetheart, Jim Bruce, on March 21, 1949. They lived in Durham, North Carolina while Jim completed his studies at the Duke Medical School. Upon Jim’s graduation from Duke, they moved to Montgomery for one year before making their permanent home in Opelika where Jim joined his father in the practice of medicine. It was there in east Alabama that Jim became a prominent physician and served as Chief of Staff at the Lee County Hospital that later became the East Alabama Medical Center.
Bettie and Jim reared 5 children in Opelika---Lind, Jim, Ashley, Mimi, and Carolyn. God also blessed Bettie with 13 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Bettie sought to serve Jesus Christ in every aspect of her life. With a sweetness of spirit, she had an attractiveness about her life that was contagious. She had a servant’s heart, and was always thinking of others.
Near the end of her life, Bettie expressed her deep sense of gratitude for her Christian family. She said, “I am so proud to have had such a wonderful family. I am grateful for their Christian legacy. I realize that every choice makes us who we are and influences future generations. Give carefully and generously because you never know whose life you will influence along the way.”
We are deeply grateful to the daughters of Bettie Bruce for perpetuating the memory of this remarkable lady. Her legacy will live on forever in the hearts and minds of our Lee County seminarians and the Churches that they will be privileged to serve.