Belle Williams Graham

Belle was born Willie Bell Williams to Annie Bell (nee Barnes) and Willie Roy Williams in Millen (Jenkins County), Georgia, on May 25, 1931. She was the second youngest of five children including McKinley, Rosa Lee, Ruby Lee and Daisy Bell.

When she was young, her family moved to South Philadelphia where she grew up and was educated in the Philadelphia public school system, graduating from South Philadelphia High School for Girls. In her late teens, her family moved to New Jersey where they lived on a 30-acre farm in Williamstown.

Belle had several jobs as a teenager including; working for her brother McKinley at his cafeteria and at a transit lunch counter where she met Dizzy Gillespie. She was very ambitious, which motivated her to attend Pierce Business Junior College in Philadelphia where she received an Associate's Degree in Business Administration. While at Pierce, she met and married the father of her children Daniel Graham (Rafieq Ibn Saalim).

After graduating from Pierce, Belle was employed in several rewarding positions including working for the US Defense Department, where she received several commendations for her exemplary service. She ultimately settled at the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority where she retired in 1989 after over 25 years of service.

Belle had a very rich and interesting life which included joining the Nation of Islam in the late 1950’s. Many members of her family soon followed suit, including her mother and father. While a member of the Nation of Islam, she was a leader in Muslim Girl Training (MGT) and even authored a Muslim cookbook. She was also fortunate enough to have served as Malcom X ‘s assistant and helped him to prepare his speeches and auditory remarks when he visited Philadelphia.

Among her enjoyments were traveling, music and spending time with friends. She traveled often to many places throughout the United States including Alaska and Hawaii. She also visited many places around the globe including Europe, Africa, Australia, North America, and South America. Belle was such a friendly and delightful person she connected with almost everyone and counted so many people among her ever-growing group of friends. On most weekends or holidays, you would often find Belle playing Pinochle with friends and threatening “rub heads”. She enjoyed dancing and would always get up for the Electric Slide. Belle enjoyed music. Among her favorite singers and musicians were Sam Cooke, Dionne Warwick, Frank Sinatra, Jeffrey Osborne, Luther Vandross, Wes Montgomery, and Lew Rawls, who she actually had the pleasure of meeting. After retirement, she joined several social groups including Red Hatters Club and Young at Heart which allowed her to continue to make new friends and travel.

Belle was a very sophisticated and stylish woman, as a young girl she read society, glamor, and fashion magazines and loved to watch Hollywood movies. Accordingly, you would always find her hair perfectly coiffed and her dress enviable. She was a member of several ladies’ social clubs and enjoyed outings and society affairs. She was also everyone’s favorite Aunt. Her nieces and nephews adored her, not only for her poise, but for her amiable demeanor. Not one person could ever find a negative word to attribute to her.

Above all, Belle was the consummate mother. As a single parent, she successfully raised her two daughters, Aiasha and Shaheedah to be strong, proud, and independent. She truly loved her daughters and shared a close bond with the two of them. When she was blessed with her only granddaughter, Khalida, the strong trio became a quartet. You rarely saw the four of them apart. They traveled the world together and during the summers they often explored many beaches on the east coast from Florida to Rhode Island.

She is survived by her daughters, Aiasha and Shaheedah; granddaughter, Khalida; son-in-law, Dale Knight; her youngest sister, Daisy and her special sister, Lacy.

She is predeceased by, Willie Roy Williams (Father), Annie Bell Williams (Mother), Rosalee Williams and Ruby Byrd (Sisters) and McKinley Williams (Brother).

She will be missed by a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.

Family and Friends are invited to attend a two-hour Memorial Visitation on Friday, March 1, 2024, at Lamb Funeral Home, 101 Byberry Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006, from 9:00am - 11:00am with a Service to follow.