Wiley, Ora Belle Hale
Birth: 11-4-1921
Death: 7-25-2022
Comments: Double marker with Edward Lawrence Wiley Jr.; m.6-21-1939; death date not engraved at time of survey
Burial: Washington Hill Cemetery (Black)
Notes: Originally recorded in a survey on 9-24-2011 and updated on 7-29-2022.
Obituary: Ora Belle Hale was born on November 4, 1921 in Boughton, Arkansas to George and Beulah Hale. Ora was the third of seven children. As a child, she attended school in a two-room building containing the 1st – 8th grades. At a time when very few black children were allowed the opportunity for an education, the Lord saw it fit for her to graduate the 8th grade. After graduating, she participated in her father’s sharecropping operation. Ora was an extremely hard worker, consistent caretaker, and role model to her younger siblings. Her Christian faith began at Macedonia Baptist Church in Boughton, Arkansas where she accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and savior. In 1939, Ora married the love of her life, Ed Wiley, Jr. They made a loving home for themselves in Burtsell, Arkansas for the first twenty-two years of their married lives. In 1961 they moved the family to San Bernardino, California and that became home for them and their children until 1974. In 1974, Ora and some family members moved back to Prescott, Arkansas to care for her aging father while other members of the family remained in California. During her tenure in California, Ed and Ora attended Greater Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. Upon returning to Prescott, they united with Macedonia Baptist Church where Ora was very active, serving as superintendent of Sunday School, Mission President, and a member of both Macedonia and the Southwest District A-Division choirs. At the early stages of her marriage, Ora was content to be a mother, homemaker, and farm laborer alongside her husband and children until moving to California. Shortly after moving to San Bernardino, Ora worked outside the home as a nurse’s aide for children with special needs. Ora also worked with the custodial staff at Loma Linda Hospital in San Bernardino, CA. Upon moving back to Prescott, she worked as a nursing assistant at Nevada County Hospital. From Ed and Ora’s union, 12 wonderful children were born. Paul (Shirley, deceased) Wiley, George Wiley, Douglas (Patricia) Wiley, Carolyn Marshall, Marion/Jody (Joseph) Fletcher, Eddie (deceased) Wiley, Ronald (Bernice) Wiley, Sam (Kathryn) Wiley, Harold (Anita) Wiley, Sanny Wiley, Kenneth (Darlene) Wiley, and Felix (Stacey) Wiley along with one surviving sister-in-law Mrs. Doris Hale, 42 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren, 6 great-great grandchildren, 2 great-great-great grandchildren, and a host of loving nieces, nephews, and extended family. Family wake will be 6:00pm to 8:00pm on Friday July 29, 2022, at BRAZZEL/Cornish 1196 Hwy 371 West Prescott. Arkansas 71857 Homegoing service will be 11:00am Saturday July 30, 2022 at Macedonia Baptist Church, Boughton Community with burial to follow in Washington Hill Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of BRAZZEL/Cornish The Funeral Home of Prescott, Eddie Brazzel Director

This survey is copyright ©1997-2024 by Jerry and Jeanie McKelvy. All rights are reserved. The McKelvy's grant the right to use listings on these web pages and in these databases for an individual's research project, but no commercial (for profit) publishing is allowed without the written consent of Jerry and Jeanie McKelvy.

References to an "earlier record" usually refer to a survey conducted in the 1950's by the Nevada County Extension Homemakers' Clubs, the original of which is on file at the Nevada County Depot and Museum.

Since 1997, Jery and Jeanie McKelvy have conducted a periodic canvas of each cemetery in the county and use additional resources to keep the listings current.