Bibb County GaArchives Photo Tombstone.....McKay, Ozzie Belle 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
James W. Allen jallen46@cox.net July 18, 2005, 6:30 pm

Cemetery:           Linwood Cemetery
Name:               Ozzie Belle McKay

Date Of Photograph: June 25, 2005
Photo can be seen at:
http://www.usgwarchives.net/ga/bibb/photos/tombstones/linwood/mckay6652ph.jpg
Image file size: 99.1 Kb

Ozzie Belle McKay

b: 15 June 1906

d: 14 October 2004


Additional Comments:
     Leaders play a crucial role in all communities and in society in 
general.  Without the expertise of trained and focused individuals, much of 
the effects seen in local communities today, such as parks, services, 
attractions, and organizations, would not be nearly as successful as they 
are.  There are, however, other citizens of our communities that work hard, 
often behind the scene, to get many things accomplished.  Though these 
individuals may not be leaders in the traditional sense, they are strong and 
dedicated followers.  Such people avoid the limelight and rather live in the 
shadow because of being humble.  Many works and initiatives cannot be 
implemented without the assistance of these community foot soldiers.  One such 
dedicated soldier in the community was Miss Ozzie Belle McKay.  Miss McKay, 
through her community service and activism in civil rights, was an outstanding 
individual who spent her life helping others.
    Miss Ozzie was born on June 15, 1906, in Quitman County.  Orphaned at the 
age of five, she was sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin, Miss 
Cleopatra Love (see her marker information).  Fresh out of high school Miss 
McKay took a job with the Atlant Life Insurance Company where she worked for 
twenty-five years.  She was such a good worker the company had to hire two 
agents to take her place when she retired.  She never had a car.  "She was 
never late," remembers Mrs. Thelma Dillard, a woman active in the community 
herself.  "She was all over the community and she didn't mind asking folks to 
take her where she needed to go.  Nobody turned her down.  Because of her job 
selling door to door insurance she met a lot of people and made many friends.  
As a result, politicians often used Miss McKay to get elected because of her 
extensive list of contacts.  Macon attorney Lonzy Edwards remarks, "no one in 
his right mind would ever enter a political battle without making sure Miss 
Ozzie is on your side."
     Miss Ozzie Belle was continuously dedicated to the community.  Many years 
ago she founded the Ozzie Belle McKay Federated Girls Club and the Lewis B. 
Sheftall Boys Club.  According to Mrs. Dillard, Miss McKay put every girl she 
could into the Ozzie Belle McKay Club and "nobody could tell her no."   She 
was always trying to help young boys and girls grow and develop socially, Mrs. 
Dillard said.  She also held doll parties for the young girls and had a 
collection of her own.
     Though she had a passionate love for children, she never had any and was 
never married.
     Miss McKay was the treasurer for the NAACP for over thirty years in 
Macon, Georgia and watched the money as though it was hers.
     Miss McKay has a park named after her across from city hall and had many 
awards given to her.  Former Governor Joe Frank Harris named her Lt. Colonel 
of Georgia and was given the President's Award for her role in the Democratic 
Women of Bibb County.
     Toward the end of her life, Miss McKay left the home she grew up in with 
her cousin on Monroe Street and entered the Peake Nursing Home.  She died on 
October 14, 2004 at the age of ninety-five.
 


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