Frances West
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WEST, Frances Josephine Murphy, age 99, of Atlanta, passed away Sunday, February 20, 2022. She was born on a farm in Trenton, SC on August 9, 1922. She felt an audible call to become a missionary while in high school and after trying to escape the command from God for months, she succumbed. She graduated from Winthrop College in 1943 and then went on to obtain her Master's in Religious Education from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While in seminary, she met and married Dr. Ralph Lee West of Gray Court, SC and in 1945, they moved to Nigeria. Ralph West was a professor at the seminary in Ogbomosho, Nigeria, and Frances began her missionary work by acquainting herself with many of the 240,000 residents of the town. She also began teaching classes for the seminary students' wives and became the chaplain at the Baptist hospital nearby. Among Frances' many accomplishments during their subsequent 20 years in Nigeria, she founded the Nigerian Training Center for the Blind, which was the first of its kind in Nigeria and the second in all of Africa. The school was and still is very successful, with two of its early graduates going on to become internationally renowned figures. She also started child daycare centers and children's churches. She championed equal rights for women in Nigeria. After their return to the US in 1965, the Wests made their home in Atlanta, GA with their 2 daughters, Sheryl and Marilyn. Through her Don't Mention Age (DMA) Sunday School Class at Briarcliff Baptist Church, she began her work with the international community to bring people of all ages and from all over the world together ?regardless of race or religion. She and her lifelong friend Nancy Haden spearheaded the Clothes Closet at Briarcliff to help those newly immigrated to the US in finding career positions and establishing their homes in the Atlanta Metro area. Through her DMA group, she met her close friend and Indian daughter, Veena Rao of Mangalore, India. Frances returned to Nigeria at the age of 85 for the 100-year anniversary of the Ogbomosho Baptist Hospital. At the age of 94, accompanied by Veena, she fulfilled a lifelong dream of traveling to India. This feat alone highlights her boundless energy and infectious enthusiasm for life, which lasted until the very end. "One thing I have decided: I did not want to get stuck in an ordinary, mundane life. I wanted to go beyond my comfort zone and experience new things and meet new people from other cultures?and how right I was about that!" Frances was preceded in death by husband Ralph (2002) and daughter Marilyn (2001). She is survived by her daughter Sheryl West Clements; grandchildren Wendy Bellinetti, West Bellinetti (Renee), Scott Bellinetti (Elizabeth), Brooke Davis Templeton (John), and Tyler Davis; 2 nephews Bill Bearden (Claudia) and Bruce Bearden (Michael); niece Pam Bearden Payton; 6 great-grandchildren and countless "best friends" from around the world. Burial at Cheatham Hill Cemetery. Celebration of Life will be held at Briarcliff Baptist Church on Saturday, February 26, 2022 from 12-1pm, and a luncheon for all will follow, ending at 3pm. The family would like to express our thanks to the Kings Bridge Retirement Community, where Frances lived for 37 years, and where her late husband Dr. Ralph West was chaplain for 17 years. If desired, friends may make memorial contributions to the Georgia Asylum and Immigration Network (GAIN), PO Box 78425, Atlanta, GA 30357, www.georgiaasylum.org. A.S. Turner & Sons Funeral Home.