It was Valentine’s Day, 1926, 39 miles west of Philadelphia, when the population of Coatesville, Pennsylvania increased by one. Alberta Evelyn Ford, affectionately known as “Sister Bertie,” or “Momma Bird,” was born. World War I had ended, Calvin Coolidge was president and the Roaring Twenties were in full swing. History tells us this was the era of glitz and glamour, when women bobbed their hair and replaced old fashion corsets with the loose-fitting style of the “flapper,” a slang term for young women whose newfound freedom was compared to young birds flapping their wings while learning to soar.

Ironically nicknamed “Bertie,” soaring in Christ is exactly what this woman of strength, class and style that we remember today has done.

FROM HER OWN PERSPECTIVE “As an only child for many years, our home was fairly quiet. So, as a little girl I loved visiting my grandparents, Clara and William Frankin, where I played with my aunts and uncle who I was raised alongside as siblings. Those were wonderful times I will always cherish,” she recalled. “My mother, Merble Ford was a beautiful, soft-spoken woman. My father, Addison Ford, served in the military, and later worked at Coatesville’s renowned Lukens Steel Mill, which famously forged beams for the original World Trade Center in New York City. Back then, Lukens afforded Coatesville’s Black middle class the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of well-paying jobs in the steel industry. God blessed my family with many nice things,” she said with a smile. “After 16 years, my parents had four more children who I loved so much-and I proudly named each of them after my favorite school classmates, Elsie, Emily, Frances and Kenneth.”

After completing her education in the Coatesville public school system, Alberta worked at the local Veterans Hospital. At the tender age of 24, she vacationed in Atlantic City, where she fell in love, not only with the Jersey Shore, but also with the love of her life, Fred Harriell, Sr., then employed at a local tavern. They married in Coatesville in 1950, honeymooned in Atlantic City and never left-making it their lifelong home.

Their union produced two children, a son, Fred Harriell, Jr. who preceded her in death and a daughter, Leslie Harriell-Turner (Glen), currently of Warner Robins, GA. Known to many in the community as “Miss Bertie” and “Mr. Freddy,” the couple were married for 44 years until his passing in 1994.

Bertie was known for her immaculate housekeeping, decorated with her ownhandcrafted crochet doilies. She loved her family, her friends, the ocean breeze of the boardwalk and upscale shopping. Her vibrant wardrobe was legendary-hats, handbags and shoes to match no less, along with her signature broach. Wherever she went, she turned heads.

She attended Atlantic City Vocational Technical School and earned a license in cosmetology. Though she worked only briefly as a beautician, she proudly kept her license current well into her 80’s.

Bertie was a longtime member of St. James AME Church. However, following her conversion as a born-again Christian in the late 1970s, she joined United Body of Christ Ministries Love Center under Pastors Wong and Christine Young.

Desiring to know her true God given purpose, Alberta earned an associate’s degree in Evangelism from Jameson Bible College of Ministry and Theology under the late Dr. Howard O. Jameson.

An avid student of the Bible, Bertie found great pleasure in sharing God’s Word. Her life’s mission centered on ministering salvation to the lost.

At age 90, she passionately started a weekly Wednesday morning Bible study in the third-floor conference room of New York Avenue Apartments in Atlantic City. Once relocating to Georgia and even in the early stages of dementia at 94, she was known to lay hands on and pray for fellow residents within her assisted living facility who relied on her heavily for spiritual guidance.

Alberta Evelyn Ford Harriell led countless many to Christ and enriched the lives of everyone who knew her. She will be dearly missed, but the wisdom and knowledge of God’s Word that she shared with others will have a lasting impression on all who had the privilege to know her.

She is survived by one sister Frances Ford Alston of Coatesville, PA, daughter Leslie Harriell-Turner, son-in-law Glen Turner and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, church family and friends.

An informal visitation is planned for Tuesday, July 22 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Heritage Memorial Funeral Home. Repass details to be announced. She will be laid to rest privately, Thursday, July 24, 2025 at Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Milledgeville, GA.

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