Bertha Belflower

BIOGRAPHY

Belflower was born in Berrien County, Georgia, USA, on 14 January 1907, as the last child of 15 children born to parents David Melton Robinson (1858–1923) and Malissa Matilda Bennett (1861–1941). She spent her childhood on the family farm, situated just north and across from Oakey Grove Primitive Baptist Church between Tifton and Nashville, Georgia.

On 3 August 1924, at the age of 17, she married George Irmon Belflower (1905–1959) at Shady Grove Church in Berrien County. The couple initially lived in the Tifton area, where their two sons, Milton Luther (1926–2013) and Kenneth George (born 1929), were born. Later, they moved to Valdosta, where their sons grew up, graduated from high school, and enlisted in the Navy and Army during World War II.

After the conclusion of World War II, the couple moved to Saint Simons Island, where they resided until his passing on 7 November 1959. She continued to live there until the early 1960s, when she relocated to Plant City, Florida, to be near her sister, Arizona Charlotte Lipsey. She maintained her independence in Plant City, residing there until she sold her home at the age of 96.

Belflower passed away in Bartow, Florida, USA, on 30 October 2017, at the age of 110 years, 289 days. She was survived by her son Kenneth, and a number of grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.