Mrs. Hettie Lee Key Campbell

Hettie Lee Key Campbell, 88, of Harlan, KY, formerly of Mt Airy, NC left this world to be with our Lord and her family in Heaven on 29 March 2015, Palm Sunday, having succumbed to congestive heart failure.

Hettie was born 11 August 1926 to Jasper Davis and Cora Collins Key of the Blackwater Community in Ararat, Surry County, NC. She was the 8th of 9 living children born of this union, and was preceded in death by her parents and 7 siblings, Lawrence Key of Ararat, NC, Clarence Key of Stuart, VA Mildred Bryant of Southern Pines, NC, Mary Ruth Key Fulk and Beatrice Key Waller of Pinnacle, NC, Paul D. Key of Ararat, NC, and Davis Key of Mt. Airy. Her baby sister, Betty Jean Key Whitaker, from Randleman, NC, survives. A special niece and lifelong friend, Sylvia June Miller, of Pilot Mountain, NC, also survives.
A loving and devoted wife of 60-plus years, she was preceded in death by her husband, Weldon Campbell, Sr. .Together, Hettie and Weldon owned and operated Campbell Monumental Works, on South Main Street, Mt. Airy, creating meticulously crafted granite and marble memorials for others' loved-ones in which they took great pride. Their work can be found in many local and regional cemeteries across Northwest North Carolina and Southwest Virginia.
Jody Harris of Harlan, KY provided care and assistance for both Weldon and Hettie from December 2008 when they arrived in Harlan, until they each passed from this world to the next. Jody would stay with Hettie in her Mt. Airy home for long visits until Hettie's health became less stable.
Hettie leaves as a legacy her three children, two sons-in-laws, and four grandchildren, Marye, and Parker Boggs of Harlan, KY; Harriette and J. Dixon Brown, , from Winchester, VA; and Jack Campbell of Alexandria, VA., her namesake, Hettie Caitlin (Sudie) Brown, of Washington, DC, her eldest grandson, Albert Wilson Campbell Brown, of Mountain View, CA; her youngest grandson, James Parker (Jake) Boggs, Honolulu, HA, and, her youngest grandchild, Marye Margaret (Mimi) Campbell Boggs, of St George's, Grenada.
Two special young ladies, Lucy Bryson, "the older girl" and Tess Bryson "the little one", now ages 9 and 13, called her "Grandmother" and visited almost daily for years. Hettie listened intently as Tess and Lucy provided effusive detail in response to her predictable question, "What did you do today?"
Over the years, Hettie supported a variety of local organizations as an extension of her support of her children, church, community, and education. She was a charter member of the Mt. Airy Chapter of the American Business Women's Association and enjoyed selling pizza during the Autumn Leaves Festival to support the scholarship fund. She took her sewing machine to the old North Main Street School where she and AB Snow made curtains for the windows during the summer arts festival. Hettie was an early advocate for the establishment of the Surry Arts Council and the designation of the Mt. Airy Historic District where she resided in her beloved "antique house". Hettie relished her seat on the back right pew of Trinity Episcopal Church that allowed her, her children, and grandchildren to ring the bell that announced the start of the service for many years.
She had a passion for growing and arranging flowers and always looked forward to arranging the vases for the Altar of Trinity Episcopal Church and enjoyed assembling the Easter Sunday Flower Cross. A quiet leader, she was a bedrock supporter of the organ fund, church choir, and youth education programs and enjoyed dressing in Victorian costume for tours of the historic church during Mayberry Days. Hettie loved selling ham biscuits and doughnuts for the Mt Airy High School Band Boosters and was a chaperone for the band on its trip to Mardi Gras in 1971. She was an avid bridge player and never tired of simple pleasures such as Summer Sunday afternoon drives with Weldon and his aunt, Lettie Patterson, to the cooler climate of the Blue Ridge Parkway, visiting flea markets, watching the birds, cats, and chickens at Marye and Parker's home, and a good slaw dog with onions or vanilla ice cream cone from Dairy Hut in Harlan. Her eyes would dance with any mention of North Carolina on the news or in conversation.
Family visitation will be at Moody Funeral Home on Tuesday, April 7, 2015 from 6-8 p.m. followed by a service at Trinity Episcopal Church, Mt. Airy, NC at 11:00 on Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Interment will follow the service at Oakdale Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed to the Trinity Episcopal Church Memorial Garden Fund, Mt. Airy, NC, the Christ Episcopal Church Prayer Garden Fund, P.O. Box 858, Harlan, KY, or the charity of your choice.
Online condolences may be made at www.moodyfuneralservices.com