Anna Belle Bradley

Anna Belle Tripp Bradley, was born May 27, 1936 and died July 31, 2024. She was the daughter of Clarence A. Tripp and Lucille Sigler Tripp. She is survived by her sisters Patricia Staggs and Rebecca Kopcyzk and their families, and her three children Karen Napper, Barbara Cox and William Cox. She is preceded by her parents, her two brothers Lawrence Tripp and William Tripp, her sister Phyllis Sink, her two children LuAnn Lagos and Keith Cox, and her two husbands Robert L. Cox and Lawrence Bradley. She is also survived by her cats Kelli, Fluffy, Onyx, Niles, Russia and Ginger Boy Thomas, who all reside happily as inside cats in Midtown.

Anna Belle was born in Detroit, Michigan and spent her young life there. She left school in the 8th grade. She married Robert L. Cox while she was still a teenager and moved to Paducah, Kentucky. They later moved to Memphis, Tennessee where Anna Belle purchased a wonderful brick home in Crosstown area and raised her five children. She loved her children and tried to provide for them. Anna Belle enjoyed working at the Buccaneer and later the Lamplighter. She purchased the Lamplighter and enjoyed the years she owned and managed it. Her husband Larry helped with the accounting and tax forms. Anna Belle was a people person; she was generous and tried to help others, both financially and in other ways. She knew what it was like to struggle with addiction, her childhood abuse and unresolved hurt. She knew about hunger and doing without. She tried to provide a safe haven for others. She supported many charities, both for humans and animals.

Although she had not formal education beyond the 8th grade, Anna Belle educated herself. She loved to read and kept a poetry notebook with some of her favorite poems from Poe, Shakespeare, Coleridge, Tennyson and Shelley, as well as poems by her daughter Karen. She loved writing and art and music. She collected art prints and paintings. Her music tastes ranged from opera to the classics to rock and roll. She especially liked music from the 40's and 50's. She loved drawing, painting, sewing, tatting, and gardening. She especially loved clothes shopping even when there was nothing she needed, and eating at a good restaurant.

Anna Belle loved animals from an early age and her own home had several cherished dogs and cats over the years. She fed many stray cats at her home.

When her health declined and it was not safe for her to live alone at her home, Anna Belle came into conservatorship of the state of Tennessee and spent her last two years in assisted living at Foxbridge. She made new friends, had excellent care and awoke every morning to the lake outside her window where she could go and feed the geese and ducks cracked corn. She also received regular visits from her oldest cat, Kelli.

Anna Belle passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her smile, her twinkling blue eyes, her caring ways and her vivacious personality will be sorely missed by all who knew and loved her.

Anna Belle asked, after many long, painful and cathartic discussions to have the following message given out: "The sexual abuse of children and young people is wrong. It harms the child for a lifetime and causes many problems, well into adulthood". As in Anna Belle's life, it was a generational curse. "It occurs far to often and needs to be talked about and prevented. Every person has a duty and a responsibility to protect children and young people. Whether it is your child, the neighbor's child or the child down the street. Listen when a child tells you something is wrong, someone is touching them, talking to them or showing them things they don't like. Contact the authorities and protect the child. Break the cycle of sexual abuse. Tell!"

At her request, Anna Belle will be cremated. A memorial picnic will be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM, at the pavilion of Peabody Park, 712 Tanglewood Street, Memphis, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to a charity of your choice in her memory.