For more than 80 years of Ophie Dean Bell's life, she has walked down Summit Street on Sunday mornings to her beloved church, Mount Calvary Church of God in Gainesville.

Now at 97, Bell isn't able to walk to her church just a couple of blocks away - but that doesn't deter her from being an active member.

And for her years of devotion and service to the church, last weekend both her family and church honored her with a special birthday celebration for the oldest church member.

"I just love the church so much," Bell said.

Daughter Malissia Bell added that her mother always loved that the church was small.

"Everybody knew each other and all the families were about the same age," she said.

At the birthday party, the church presented two birthday cakes to Ophie, the Rev. Roger Owens gave a presentation and friend Elizabeth Westbrooks sang.

Hilda Carter, a family friend and member at Mount Calvary, said they wanted to honor her because, "she is our oldest member and she is still very active. We had a program of family and friends, people just strolling down memory lane.

"One of our members talked about that there were 17 presidents that she had seen come and go."

During Bell's years in Gainesville she has made lots of friends and was always seen walking around town with her three children: Evelyn Gordon, Malissia and Bedarius.

She came to live in Gainesville in 1912 in first grade, lived through the 1936 tornado that hit downtown Gainesville and was married to Bulah Bell in 1941 at Mount Calvary.

"Back then when you got out of school you had to come home and help her (Ophie) was because she had 10 tubs in the back and a wash pot," Malissia said. "So you didn't dirty your clothes because you had to wash them when you got home."

Besides being a homemaker Ophie loves to travel and read and spend time with her five grandchildren, one of which is Hall County Commissioner Ashley Bell, and her many great-grandchildren.

"My favorite trip was Hawaii," said Ophie, who has also visited Mexico, St. Louis, Texas and Las Vegas, among other places. "I loved going to the (Church of God) conventions (in Atlanta) to hear all the different preachers preach."