When Ora Mae Reeves was baptized 54 years ago in water at a gristmill near Vernon, it was the beginning of many years of service to Corinth Baptist Church, Lamar Association.
The year was 1950 and the small rural church had no baptistry, so the waters of Holly Mill Pond sufficed.
Her son, Hershel Reeves, now a 71-year-old member of Smithville Baptist Church, Toadvine, said he was raised by his mom and dad on the family farm at Vernon, along with his two brothers and one sister. Their dad, Lewis C. Reeves, died about 27 years ago, according to Hershel Reeves.
Vernon, a town of fewer than 2,000 people, is home to several trucking firms but was a small farming community with horses and buggies when Ora Mae Reeves was younger.
“She worked in the fields just like us boys,” Hershel Reeves said.
He recalled toiling from sunup until sundown in the cotton fields of Vernon. He said work would lull midafternoon on Saturdays and his mother would provide special treats of peanut butter and iced tea.
After life on the farm she worked at Glenn Manufacturing, a garment factory in Vernon, for 37 years. “I didn’t retire until I was 81,” she said.
“Living a Christian life and being a hardworking woman,” has kept her going all her many years, Ora Mae Reeves, now 94, said.
Although she and her family worked long hours she remained a committed member of the church, making sure her family was in church on Sundays.
After a lifetime of hard-wrought rural life and raising a family she remains active at Corinth Baptist, which was founded in 1887.
“I taught Sunday School there for years,” she said. “I think I’ve held every office there is at the church.”
“She’s laid the foundation for where we are now at Corinth and in our association,” said Benton Goodman, director of missions for Lamar Baptist Association.
Even with one knee replacement surgery and back problems she lives independently and is in church every Sunday, according to former pastor Tom Harris. Harris was her pastor for 11 years.
“She’s a kind, humble and caring person and one of God’s great saints,” Harris said. “She’s sharp as a tack.”
Her faithful dedication to the Lord and His church was borne out through her teaching Sunday School — from children through adults — for years and serving as secretary and treasurer of Corinth Baptist.
Hershel Reeves said her concern for other people and maintaining a positive outlook on life resulted in many things he remembers her saying. One thing in particular is:
“‘Whatever comes we’ll make the best of it. Regardless, God is still in control,’ ” he said. “She has always been a booster of the church, a tither and is always active in supporting others,” he said.
Goodman said he is impressed by “her progressiveness and ability to have a vision — always thinking of what can be in the church, at home or in schools,” he said.
One of those visions came many years ago when the church didn’t have enough songbooks and almost no money in the treasury.
“Money was scarce then,” Ora Mae Reeves recalled. “The preacher had asked the secretary if she had ordered the songbooks and she told him she hadn’t because there wasn’t enough money in the treasury — only 35 cents.
“We really needed more books, so another church member and I drove around the town collecting money for the church to get the songbooks,” Reeves said.
Aside from serving her church she has several hobbies including making quilt tops, crocheting and reading.
She said her relationship with the Lord and with other Christians means so much to her and it gives her an outlet. “Since I’m retired and I’m not out in public as much, church is also my social life and my religious home,” she said.
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