Ms. Dot Campbell Passes on November 20, 2021

                                               Ms. Dot Campbell is pictured.

 Ms. Dorothy “Dot” Alberta Bails Campbell, 92, widow of Theodore “Ted” Grover Campbell, passed on November 20, 2021. 

A native of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, daughter of the late Enoch and Elizabeth Bails, she was a self-employed caregiver and member of Faith Temple Church, Taylors, SC. 

Graveside services conducted by the Rev. Raymond D. Burrows were held at 2:00 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021, at Faith Temple Cemetery.

The sun shone brightly as a cold wind blew across the cemetery hillside. Ms. Dot’s family sat in 24 chairs placed in three lines in front of the casket holding her earthly remains. A Woods Mortuary tent covered the family and the casket. Friends stood outside the tent. 

“We’ve come to celebrate the life of Sister Dot Campbell,” Pastor Burrows said. He read Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want … .”

Ms. Ann Burrows, wife of the Rev. Burrows, sang “Amazing Grace,” a cappella. 

Pastor Burrows, Ms. Dot’s pastor for 26 years, said her life was Christ-like, representative of the Savior, and exhibited the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, and long-suffering). He said he arrived minutes after her son Teddy (1948-2012) died, and upon his arrival, Ms. Dot showed stability when she said, “It’s OK. It’s in God’s Hands.”

Pastor smiled when noting Ms. Dot, known for giving hugs, would say to folk, “Come see me sometime, and it’ll be all right if you bring some food.”

“She was one of the finest Christians that’s ever walked this planet,” Pastor said. “She was an inspiring person.” He prayed, “Provide this family with peace. Wrap your spiritual arms around them.” 

Mr. Ted and Mrs. Dot Campbell moved from the West Virginia and Pennsylvania area to South Carolina, and they came to Faith Temple in the late 1950s with their children: Dennis (“Smiley”), Teddy, and Linda. Mr. Campbell was a cousin to Mr. Henry Hawley, Jr., who had lived near the Campbells in the North. Mr. Hawley (wife; Mrs. Pauline Hawley) had served in the US Army Air Force in SC, liked the Greenville, SC, area, and also attended Faith Temple. He influenced Mr. Campbell to move south. Mr. Ted’s father, had lung problems caused from working in the coal industry. He and Mr. Ted’s mother moved south and attended Faith Temple.

Ms. Alline Amos remembered that Ms. Dot said she told Mr. Ted, “I’ll move to the South, if you’ll go to church with me.” They moved, and the whole family professed faith in Christ at Faith Temple, then pastored by the Rev. James H. Thompson.

When Mr. and Mrs. Campbell’s daughter, Linda (1950-1969), died in an auto accident, Linda’s son Alan was two years old and Michael was three months old. Mr. Ted and Mrs. Dot adopted Linda’s sons.

Mrs. Barbara Robertson Crain said, “Ms. Dot was faithful to come to Tuesday Bible study at the church when her health permitted. She would sit on my left, right next to Pastor Burrows, on the other side. Because of her declining health, I began to look every Tuesday at her empty chair. I miss seeing her smiling face and getting those big hugs.”

Ms. Campbell’s survivors include three sons, Dennis “Smiley” Campbell (Darlene), Alan Duncan (Sabrina), and Michael Campbell (Amanda), one daughter-in-law, Pat Campbell; nine grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren. 

Ms. Campbell was also predeceased by one son, Teddy Campbell; one daughter, Linda Campbell; and two grandchildren, Deanna Campbell and Brian Campbell. 

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Faith Temple, 5080 Sandy Flat Road, Taylors, SC 29687. 

MICHAEL CAMPBELL REMEMBERS HIS MOTHER WHO WAS HIS GRANDMOTHER

Mr. Michael Campbell, husband of Mrs. Amanda Campbell, serves as a Faith Temple deacon. A 26-year employee of BMW, Michael works as an equipment service associate.

Michael writes the following about his mother (and grandmother): 

We called her Gammy. From what I was told, one of the grandchildren couldn’t pronounce “granny,” and it came out “Gammy” and the name stuck. She was called that by everyone in the family and many of her friends. When talking about her, I referred to her as my mother. I was one of the people speaking on Mother’s Day at Faith Temple several years ago, and I shared how after my mother was killed in a car wreck, the Lord saw fit to give me another mother. 

Ted (my grandfather, and father by adoption) had parents who needed a warmer climate, and they moved from near Wheeling, West Virginia, to the Greer, SC, area and lived with them. They considered California, but because Ted’s cousin, the Henry Hawleys, lived here they thought it would be a nice place. They moved to SC somewhere around 1960. I’m not sure who attended Faith Temple first, the Hawleys or the Campbells. 

Ted’s parents lived with them till they died. They were called Pap-Pap and Nunna. Pap-Pap was born in Italy and immigrated here with his father. I have no memories of them. I believe Nunna passed first, and there are a few photos of Pap-Pap playing with me as an infant. I remember Gammy sharing how her father-in-law always said he was born a Catholic and would die a Catholic; however, he became really fond of Pastor Thompson. Pap-Pap shared his vegetable garden with everyone, and Gammy said he made a special effort to make sure Pastor Thompson never left after visiting without some items. Gammy told me that one Sunday all three of her children and her in-laws went to the altar for salvation, the same day.

Gammy’s mother, Elizabeth Bailes, lived in Pennsylvania and came to visit us every May. She usually stayed the entire month. 

We called Ted “Papa.” He also had a rule in his house: If I’m going to church, you’re going to church. There were no excuses. He also loved to joke with Ms. Beatrice Whitman’s son, Lamar, about him having a buzz-cut. I recall never seeing Papa without a buzz-cut, and they — both had buzz-cuts — would rub each other’s heads. 

Growing up with my grandparents as parents was different in that they were at different places in life as opposed to many of my friends’ parents. I remember they would go to my high school football games (I played for four years), and Papa would tease Gammy about falling in holes or ditches at every game. There were Good Samaritans all over the upstate that helped her up. She would just be walking and not paying attention, but never was hurt. 

Smiley and I laughed, reminiscing over the last few days about Gammy. She loved watching her soap operas but never mastered the VCR or later DVR. Anytime it stopped recording, she would call one of us, and it was an emergency. 

She also, several times over the years, would start filling the sink with water, and the phone would ring, and she would forget the water till it spilled into the floor. Another thing we remember is that every holiday she would bake homemade bread. A couple of us has learned to make bread with her recipe over the last several years. She loved babies and children. When Bethany was a baby, she was not a good sleeper, but Gammy had the ability to take her and rock her into a deep sleep. We told Gammy she was the “baby whisperer,” because she could get them to sleep.
Gammy never tired of being around babies.