Belva Jane Lee

Belva Jane Lee was born on May 8, 1925 in Washington, DC at the old Garfield Hospital to Florence Edna Dare Hardesty and Bernard Henry Hardesty, Sr. She had one brother, Bernard Henry Jr. (Tot), who was 8 years older than her. Belva grew up in Washington, DC living at 337 16th Street, SE within walking distance of the homes of her several aunts and uncles plus several cousins, all boys and all older than her, plus the Washington Navy Yard where her father worked as a carpenter. She graduated from Eastern High School in Washington, DC in 1943 and worked for the FBI fingerprint identification section starting in her senior year of high school until 1947 when she resigned to raise her family. The remainder of her life was dedicated to being a housewife, Mother, Grandmother, and Great Grandmother. Belva married Edward Dulaney Lee of Remington, Virginia on November 30, 1945 after his return from service in World War II. They met prior to World War II when Edward came to Washington, DC during the summer months to stay with his Grandmother Lee who lived on 16th Street across the street from the Hardesty's. After their marriage, they had two children, Gary Dulaney born in 1948 and Gail Ann born in 1951, which eventually led to four grandchildren (Tammy, Larry, Gary Wayne, and Brian) and four great grandchildren (Jayden, Parker, Ethan, and Trevor). The family lived with her parents in Cheverly, Maryland (where they moved in 1945) until 1952, moved to Ardmore, Maryland from 1952 until 1957 when their home was purchased to allow construction of the Capital Beltway. In June, 1957, they moved to a new home on Burnett Street (originally Oak Street), in the Walhaven section of Franconia, Virginia, built primarily by her husband and father. She lived in this home for 56 years until her death there on July 21, 2013 at age 88. Belva was a lifelong Methodist. She regularly attended the old Epworth Methodist Church (now Lincoln Park United Methodist Church) at 1301 North Carolina Avenue, NE, during her childhood until after her marriage. Both her and her two children were baptized there. In 1957, she became a member of the Franconia United Methodist Church where she regularly attended until hip and leg problems restricted her mobility and confined her to her home. At Franconia, she was a member of the United Methodist Women and the Julia Pullen Circle often helping with wedding receptions, Meals on Wheels, etc. She also worked in the Sunday School for many years as the attendant/teacher for the 2 year old class and often provided nursery support for other church functions. Her roots in Methodism go back several generations. Her father described the family as being "Back seat Methodists" since it was a tradition that the family sit on the back pew during Sunday service where the children, if noisy or restless, could be taken out, corrected, and brought back into church with minimal disruption to the service. This applied to Belva and her children until Belva's work with the 2 year olds at Franconia led them to move to the "wing" area where she could enter through a side door if she was late getting out from her class. Belva is preceded in death by her mother in July, 1968, her father in September, 1968, her husband in August, 1990, and her brother in May, 2009.

Tributes

Belva Jane Lee

July 22, 2013 - July 22, 2013