Mrs. Alice Gwendolyn (Page) Battle

Alice Gwendolyn Page Battle was born in Durham, North Carolina to the late Baxter Page and Louise Whitted on May 27th, 1933. Her parents died at a very early age, and she was raised by her aunt and uncle in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was preceded in death by two sisters, Margaret Page Hedgpeth and Emma Louise Page Wilson.

With a bright, dimpled smile and eloquent voice, Alice was born into a family of educators. Her great-uncle, James A. Whitted, was the founder of the historic Whitted Elementary School, Durham's first public school for African American children established in 1887. She attended this school until her transition to the Chapel Hill school system when she was seven years old.

Once she migrated into the school system in Chapel Hill, she excelled academically. She was the salutatorian of the last class of Orange County Training School students to graduate at Lincoln High School in 1951. Alice Battle has the distinction of being the only educator in Chapel Hill who attended Orange County Training School, attended Lincoln High School, and taught at Lincoln High School as well as the integrated Chapel Hill High school until her retirement. She also was employed by the Danville Virginia Public Schools in the areas of English and French and was well-loved by all of her students, colleagues, and classmates.

Alice married Edward Lee Battle and from this union, Beverly Battle was born. Alice was a servant of God and worked on many projects with Saint Paul AME Church, the Christmas Cantata, and her sorority, Delta Sigma Theta. She was a lifelong learner and loved writing, reading, and the arts. Alice Gwendolyn Page Battle is survived by her daughter, Beverly "Babby" Battle, and her granddaughter, Idara Frances Page Carmichael. Several cousins, other relatives, and friends will miss her dearly and cherish her memory.

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