In the Beginning...

Born in Easley, SC in 1923, Rev. Lonnie Talley was an evangelist in the Fire Baptized Holiness Church. Ada Belle Gallaher was born in Harriman , TN in 1930. During a revival in Harriman, Rev. Talley met the beautiful young Ada Belle. They were married in early 1948 and Gloria was born later that same year. Around 1950, Lonnie moved his family north to Middletown, CT. They traveled to Hartford to attend services at a Bishop Wilkins church under the Mt. Sinai movement.

In 1968, shortly after daughter Gloria got married, the family moved to New Haven, where Rev.Talley opened and pastored The True Light Deliverance Center on Dixwell Ave. It was a little storefront church with a lot of "holy ghost" power. Here, Rev. Talley mentored many young preachers and missionaries, giving them opportunities to minister to God's people. Rev. Talley would preach, teach, sing and play his guitar even after diabetes took his sight and both of his legs. Ada Belle was a graceful, quiet woman of God with a powerful prayer life and a peaceable spirit. She co-pastored the church and eventually took over its leadership when Rev. Talley passed in 1982 at the age of 58.

Being the parents of 8 children, there was always a need for something and Ada Belle (or "Belle" as Lonnie called her) was skillful with her hands. She would sew clothes for the children and make quilts for the winter months. She loved simple but beautiful things like reading her Bible, crocheting, knitting, macrame and ceramics. Once their kids were grown and began having children of their own, "Nana's" house was always the hub of our family. Sunday afternoons brought an avalanche of grandkids, food, fun and laughter. After the death of the love of her life, she continued on but never quite with the same zest as before. Diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 1987, Ada Belle passed on to be with Lonnie in Heaven on April 2, 1988. She was only 58 years old.

Needless to say, the loss of these two progenators of our family was devestating and to this day affects every one of us. From their children who miss them as mama and daddy, to the grandchildren who never got to feel Nana's warm embrace or hear her sing softly in their ears- there's a void. It hurts to think that they could possibly still be with us in 2008 because they were so young when they died. For Gloria, the spector of living past the age of 58 loomed in the back of her mind. "Will I die early like my mom and dad did"? is a question she bore in her heart at times, but she didn't let it sink into her spirit. This is why this celebration is so special, so necessary and so poignant. She has triumphed over the lies of the enemy and lived to see grandchildren of her own.

Though we still mourn the absence of Ada Belle and Lonnie (Nana and Granddaddy)we are eternally grateful to have had them in our lives. We thank God for the example they lived before us, for the wisdom they showered over us and love they freely showed us in such great measure that we can still feel it today. Not every one has been so blessed as we in that we had parents who loved us, nurtured us, taught us to love and reverance God and made us feel safe at all times. Because they were our solid beginning, we each know without a doubt who we are and whose we are.

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Site lovingly created by Joy Carter for PraiseLinks and my beautiful mama, Gloria!