“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
-2 Timothy
4:7
Mother Willie Mae Draper, 101, peacefully entered her eternal rest on September 6, 2025, leaving behind a legacy that will continue for generations. Born in Madison County, Alabama, to the late Henry Lee Miller and Pearline Binford Miller, she rose from humble sharecropping roots to become a beacon of faith, love, and service in her church and community.
God's protective hand was evident from Mother Draper's earliest days. When diphtheria threatened her young life, God intervened, a miracle that became the cornerstone of her unwavering faith. As a child, she possessed a bright and curious mind, honing her reading skills with her siblings by using newspapers tacked to the walls of their home and dreaming of becoming a teacher. Although circumstances led her down a different path, the Lord fulfilled her calling to be a teacher through seven decades of spiritual instruction, mentorship for young women, and guidance to countless couples as they navigated life's challenges.
Family was at the center of Mother Draper's life. She was the devoted mother of Betty Joyce, Dave Jr., and Jesse, and welcomed countless others as spiritual children. Her kitchen was the heartbeat of the home, and food became her language of love. Whether preparing one of her famous meals or baking delicious treats like her famous butter roll, she nourished both body and soul. As an active grandmother, aunt, and mentor, she maintained constant contact through phone calls, prayers, and visits, often serving as a second mother to those who needed her steady presence and wise counsel. Her arms were always open, her home always welcoming, and her prayers always covering multiple generations of family and a host of spiritual children.
In 1950, Mother Draper was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost under the ministry of Elder S. H. Netter, marking the beginning of a 75-year journey of devoted service to Christ. When God called her husband, Elder Dave Draper Sr., to ministry in 1963, she stood faithfully beside him as they served together, first at New Market Church of God in Christ and later founding Beirne Avenue Church of God in Christ. Together, they built not only sanctuaries of brick and mortar but spiritual homes where hurting hearts found healing and hungry souls found nourishment.
For Mother Draper, hospitality was her ministry. Appointed by the late Bishop C. H. Ashworth as President of the State Hospitality Department for Alabama Jurisdiction I, she faithfully represented her state at National Women's Conventions for over 35 years. Her service extended far beyond local borders, including a transformative 21-day missionary journey to Schweinfurt, Germany, where her authentic candor and unwavering faith touched hearts across cultural boundaries. Still civically engaged in her 90s, Mother Draper served as the oldest member of the executive board for the Virginia Caples Lifelong Learning Institute.
Mother Willie Mae Draper embodied the Proverbs 31 woman. She lived her faith practically, serving at the table, in the pew, and throughout her community with quiet dignity and steadfast love. Her legacy of love, service, and faith lives on through the countless lives she touched. Though we grieve her absence, we rejoice in her reward and find comfort in the promise that her work of love will continue through all who were blessed to call her Mother.
Preceded in death by: Her Mother, Pearline Binford Miller; Father, Henry Lee Miller; Siblings, James Miller, Frank Miller, Katherine TBC, and Henry Miller; Husband, Elder Dave Draper Sr.; and Daughter, Betty Joyce Draper Damper, and Daughter-in-law, Marion Anderson Draper.
Survived by: Her children, Pastor Dave Draper, Jr. (Linda), and Pastor Jesse Lee Draper (Marion); sonin-law Rev Willie Damper Jr., her grandchildren, [Betty] Rodney Crenshaw, Calvin Crenshaw, Kevin Crenshaw, and Mavis Burks, [Dave] Tracey Foster, Jonathan Draper, Justin Draper, and Darius Draper, [Jesse] Tanesa Smith, Marlon Walker, Diana Baxter, Sharron Hawkins, Jessica Draper Crawford, Jennifer Tims, Jeremy Draper, her spiritual daughters Linda Anderson and Brenda Toney, and a host of loving great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, beloved church family, and spiritual children who will forever treasure her memory and continue her legacy of faith and love.
Presiding
Superintendent Dr. Bobby R. Sledge, William Ross Morrow Heritage District COGIC
+Where Indicated, Congregation, Please Stand
THE MUSICAL PRELUDE……………………………………………………………………………......................……………The Musicians
The hour of Homegoing Celebration has come, O Lord, hear our prayers And accept our meditation as we glorify thy name. Amen.
The Bishops
The Administrative Assistants
The Superintendents
Members Of The Clergy
The Draper Family
THE SONG OF PRAISE………………………...........................................…The Willie Mae Draper Celebration Choir
+THE PRAYER OF COMFORT…………………………………………………………...............…………
Dr. Paul B. Ruffin, Pastor Pillar of Truth, COGIC
+THE OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE………………………………………......… Superintendent Herbert Freeman, Jr. Progressive District COGIC
+THE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE………………………………………..............................……. Elder Jeremy Draper
RESOLUTIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...............Sister Shirley Blalock, Administrative Facilitator Draper Memorial COGIC
THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC……………………………………….....……………. The Willie Mae Draper Celebration Choir
Jurisdictional Department Of Women…………………………………….....................................………..Mother Peggy Jones
Supervisor Of Women, Alabama First Jurisdiction COGIC
Superintendent’s Wife……………………………………….....................................................……Mother Hattie Pearl Harris
First Lady, Huntsville District COGIC
District Department Of Women………………………………………………………............................……….
Mother Mary Strong
District Missionary, Huntsville District COGIC
Alabama House of Representatives………………………………………..................................... Representative Laura Hall
State Representative, Alabama House District 19
Huntsville City Council………………………………………….................................... Council Member Michelle Watkins
Huntsville City Council, District 1
Elder Dave Draper, Jr., Son/ Pastor, Draper Memorial COGIC
Elder Jesse Draper, Son, Pastor Right Way COGIC
Katherleen Cable, Neice
Minnie Louise Jones, Niece
Rodney Crenshaw, Grandson
Tracey Foster, Granddaughter
Jessica Draper Crawford, Granddaughter
Linda Anderson, Spiritual Daughter
Brenda Toney, Caregiver
THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC…………………………………………………........The Willie Mae Draper Celebration Choir
The Honorable Bishop O.L. Meadows
Jurisdictional Prelate, Alabama First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction COGIC
INTRODUCTION OF EULOGIST………………………………………….................Superintendent Christopher Griggs Administrative Assistant, Tennessee Metropolitan Jurisdiction COGIC
THE SERMONIC SELECTION…………………………………………...........................Evangelist Leslie Pace, Atlanta, GA
The Honorable Bishop Linwood E. Dillard General Board Member COGIC
Jurisdictional Prelate, Tennessee Metropolitan Jurisdiction COGIC
The Closing Prayer…………………………………………………………............................Superintendent Dr. Terrell Harris, Jr. Huntsville District COGIC
Recessional
When great trees fall, rocks on distant hills shudder, lions hunker down in tall grasses, and even elephants lumber after safety.
When great trees fall in forests, small things recoil into silence, their senses eroded beyond fear.
When great souls die, the air around us becomes light, rare, sterile. We breathe, briefly. Our eyes, briefly, see with a hurtful clarity. Our memory, suddenly sharpened, examines, gnaws on kind words unsaid, promised walks never taken.
Great souls die and our reality, bound to them, takes leave of us. Our souls, dependent upon their nurture, now shrink, wizened. Our minds, formed and informed by their radiance, fall away. We are not so much maddened as reduced to the unutterable ignorance Of dark, cold caves.
And when great souls die, after a period peace blooms, slowly and always irregularly. Spaces fill with a kind of soothing electric vibration. Our senses, restored, never to be the same, whisper to us. They existed. They existed. We can be. Be and be better. For they existed.
Valhalla Memory Gardens
698 Winchester Road NE
Huntsville, Alabama 35811
Granddaughters Nieces Great-nieces
and Deacons
Grandsons Nephews Spiritual Sons
Mothers and Missionaries of The Huntsville District
The family of Mother Willie Mae Draper is deeply grateful for the outpouring of prayer, love, and caregiving shown throughout her illness and passing. Your presence, calls, meals, and acts of kindness strengthened and comforted us beyond measure; each expression of sympathy has lifted our hearts and honored Mother’s ministry of hospitality, service, and prayer. May God bless you for your love and faithfulness.
Funeral Arrangements
4315 Oakwood Avenue, NW
Huntsville, Alabama 35810
“When only memories remain, let them be beautiful”