| Bertha Bratcher | |
 | |
| Birth: | 18 October 1897 Shoals, Surry, North Carolina, USA |
| Death: | 3 January 2006 Winston-Salem, Forsyth, North Carolina, USA |
| Age: | 108 years, 77 days |
| Country: |  USA
|
| Centenarian | |
Bertha Florence Bratcher nee Gilliam (18 October 1897 – 3 January 2006) was an American centenarian.
Biography[]
According to her birth record, Bertha Florence Gilliam was born on 18 October 1897 in Shoals, Surry, North Carolina, USA to Anthony Scorefield Gilliam (1865–1910) and Cora Nora Victoria Jarvis (1871–1916). Bertha was born to 10 siblings, 3 of them died as very young adults and one of them lived to be 99 years old, who happened to be the youngest sibling. And Bertha, who lived to be 108 years old.
According to Bertha's marriage record, on 5 July 1918, Bertha married Arthur Holman Bratcher (1894–1966) in Surry, North Carolina, when she was 19 years old. Arthur and Bertha had 10 kids together. Arthur was a world war 1 veteran, Arthur died of cerebral thrombosis in 1966.
According to her obituary- Mrs. Florence Gilliam Bratcher died 3 January 2006 in Winston-Salem, Forsyth, North Carolina, USA, at the age of 108 years, 77 days. A lifelong member of the former Stoney Ridge AME Zion Church, Shoals, Mrs. Bratcher was united in holy matrimony to Arthur H. Bratcher in July 1918, and to this union God blessed them with 10 children. In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her sons, Paul, Silas, Holman, Fred, Ervin and Jesse Bratcher; her daughter, Vernell Massey; her brothers, Charles, Coke, Couburn, Rhonda and Clarence Gilliam; and her sisters, Illa, Mattie and Frances Gilliam. She leaves to cherish her memory two daughters, Ruth Speas and Mildred Spann (with whom she lived); a son, Clyde Bratcher (Laura); a sister, Ruby Pervis; 13 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 16 great-great-grandchildren; two great-great-great-grandchildren; a son-in-law, Otis Massey, Pontiac, Mich.; two caregivers, including her very special caregiver, Vicki Mahatha, and Alice Lindsay-Shavers; and a host of nieces, nephews, other family members and friends. Funeral services will be conducted at noon Saturday, 7 January, at First Calvary Baptist Church, 401 Woodland Ave., with Pastor Calvin Runnels officiating. The Rev. Isaac Peay, St. Paul AME Zion Church in Hickory, will be the eulogist. Interment will follow in Stoney Ridge AME Zion Church Cemetery in Shoals. The family visitation will be from 7 to 8 p.m.
References[]
- Bertha Florence Gilliam Bratcher Find A Grave
- Birth Record Ancestry
- Obituary