Eliza Thompson Colley of Gadsden, Alabama passed away on Saturday, April 13, 2013 at Millennium Nursing and Rehabilitation, Huntsville, Alabama. She was the daughter of the late Otho J. and Lillian M. Thompson. Mrs. Colley graduated from William Hooper Councill High School in 1952, Huntsville, AL and Alabama A&M College in 1956. While a resident of Huntsville, she was an active member of Church Street Cumberland Presbyterian Church and served as church pianist for several years under the pastorate of the late Reverend E.D. White.
She began her professional career in the Gadsden Public School System and remained the consummate elementary teacher for over 30 years. She was admired for her strong academic and disciplinary standards. After retiring in 1989, she worked as a permanent substitute teacher for many years. She served as musician in the Gadsden Community for Grant Chapel AME Church, Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church and Sweet Home United Methodist Church. Her other affiliations include membership in the Family Success Center, RSVP, El Senior and the Etowah Retired Teachers Association. She was also an active member of the Alabama A&M Alumni Association.
She was preceded in death by her late husband, Robert Colley Jr., and her daughter, Blanche Faye Colley. She leaves a loving memory for her family to cherish forever: daughters, Deborah McDonald and Felicia Colley of Huntsville; son, Robert (Courtney) Colley, III, of Gadsden, AL; two sisters, Eunice O. (James) Cox of Athens, AL, and Dorothy T. (Andrew) Fuller of Huntsville, AL; three grandchildren, Deana Colley (Kentrell) Bone, and Cameron Howard of Huntsville, AL, and Jalen R. Colley of Gadsden, AL; four great grandchildren, Marcus D. Gladney, Jada R. Colley, Jaden R. Colley, and Kentrell L. Bone, all of Huntsville, AL, and a host of loving nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, neighbors, and many extended family members.
The family will receive friends from 11:00 a.m. until 1 p.m. on April 17, 2013 at the Royal Funeral Home, 4315 Oakwood Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35810. A Celebration of Comfort will follow the visitation. Interment will be in the Northside Cemetery, Huntsville, AL
