Alice Vera Darden, 101

    Alice Vera Darden, who had been a devoted member of the Bridgehampton First Baptist Church since 1935, died at the age of 101 on Jan. 23 and was eulogized there at a service conducted by the Rev. Frank Bryant on Tuesday.

    Born on Aug. 31, 1911, Mrs. Darden died at the home of one of her granddaughters, Alice Johnson, in Southampton.

    Mrs. Darden had been married in 1931 to Harrison Darden Jr., who died before her. She lived for many years in a house on Suwasset Avenue in Bridgehampton. After selling it, she went to live in 2007 with a daughter in Southampton, Geraldine Johnson, who died in 2009. She then moved to Ellenwood, Ga., to live with a granddaughter, Debbie Johnson, for about a year, before returning to Southampton.

    She was born in Drewyvilla, Va., to the former Alice Wells and Willie Ben Ford. She joined the Baptist church there at an early age. In Bridgehampton, she was a member of the senior choir, senior missionary, silver leaf club, deaconess board, and praise team. Debbie Johnson said her grandmother had lived a full life, loving seafood, travel, and history. Her favorite novel was “Gone With the Wind.”

    The Rev. Henry Faison Jr. of the Southampton First Baptist Church, a former Bridgehampton pastor, was among those who took part in her funeral service. Burial followed at Southampton Cemetery.

    Mrs. Darden is survived by two sons, the Rev. Roosevelt Darden of Fayettville, Ga., and Theodore Darden of Coram. A daughter, Frances Oliver of Brooklyn, also survives, as do eight additional granddaughters. A godson, Ronald Darden of West Chester, Pa., and numerous great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren also survive.