Donald Abner Belcher, Sr. left this world in January 2026. His wife of 71 years followed him just three months later. Eva Ann Belcher died on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at her home in Bainbridge, Georgia. Her family surrounded her. She was 93.
The two had met on a blind date when both were young. That chance meeting turned into a partnership that lasted more than seven decades. Friends and relatives often pointed to their marriage as a rare example of mutual respect and affection surviving through economic shifts, family crises, and the ordinary wear of time.
She completed her studies at Leon High School. Soon after, she started creating the life she would lead for the next seventy years or more. Donny Jr., her first son, was born in 1956. In 1958, Woody came next. Alyce followed in 1960, followed by Jim in 1961, Georgia in 1964, and Barbara in 1966. In 10 years, six children. She brought them up without complaining, establishing a home where warmth and order coexisted.
Her role was not glamorous. She cooked meals, kept the house orderly, and made sure her husband came home to a clean kitchen and a welcoming voice. Neighbors remember her home as one where the door was rarely locked and guests were never turned away. Hospitality was not a performance for Ann. It was just how she lived.
The family will gather twice to honor her. On Tuesday evening, April 21, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., friends and relatives can visit the Cadwell Chapel of Cox Ivey Funeral Home. That visitation offers time for handshakes, hugs, and quiet stories. The next morning, Wednesday, April 22, at 11:00 a.m., a graveside service will take place at Oak City Cemetery. The Reverend Kyle Killough will officiate. The setting is fitting. Oak City Cemetery holds generations of Bainbridge families. Ann will rest there near the community she never left.
She leaves behind six children, plus grandchildren and great grandchildren who will hear stories about her for decades. Donald went first. Ann followed. Their sequential departures feel like a closing chapter for anyone who watched their marriage from the outside. But for their family, the chapter is not closing. It is being written by the next generation, using the values she taught: devotion without fanfare, love without conditions, and a home that welcomes everyone.