OXFORD Betty Ellen Peebles King, a longtime resident of Oxford, Alabama, died in Birmingham, Alabama on August 22, 2008, following a brief illness.A native of Aliceville, Pickens County, Alabama, Mrs. King was born on October 17, 1921, to William Battle and Gertrude Meroney Peebles. She was the class valedictorian of Aliceville High School's Class of 1939, and graduated from the University of Montevallo (formerly Alabama College) with a Bachelor of Science degree in business and education in 1943. She taught briefly at the high schools of Opp and Oxford, Alabama, and worked as a secretary/bookkeeper at the U.S.O. office in Childersburg, Alabama. For many years following, she was employed as a bookkeeper-office manager at the Reynolds Insurance Agency (later Dorman-Reynolds Agency) in Anniston, Alabama. She was a member of the McCoy Memorial United Methodist Church in Anniston, where she formerly served as a Sunday School teacher and held numerous leadership positions and was an Honorary Life Member of the Administrative Council. She was also an affiliate member of the First United Methodist Church of Aliceville, where she received the sacrament of baptism in 1931. An avid amateur genealogist, she compiled histories of all her related families and enjoyed assisting others in similar pursuits. In 2004, she contributed a sizeable portion of her research collection to the Alabama Room of the Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library. Mrs. King is survived by her daughter, Betty Ellen King Wilkerson; grandson, David Wayne Hodnett; granddaughter, Aimee Hodnett Birchfield and her husband, Charles Eugene Birchfield; great granddaughters, Meagan Brianne and Amber Claire Birchfield, all of Oxford, Alabama; brother, William Battle Peebles, Jr. and his wife, Sara Wood Peebles, of Aliceville, Alabama; cousins, Frank Darrow Peebles, Jr. of Decatur, Alabama and Mary Louise Wofford Morris of Cartersville, Georgia; and several nieces and their families.She was preceded in death by her husband of fifty years, Harris Newton King, a lifelong resident of Calhoun County, Alabama.The family gratefully acknowledges the loving support provided by caregivers Thelma Hoffler, Sandy McCall, Clara Batchelor, and Eula Doss.Services will be 2:00 p.m. today at Aliceville First United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Franconia-Oak Grove Cemetery in Aliceville with Skelton Funeral Home of Reform directing.The family will receive friends at Classic on Noble, 1024 Noble Street, Anniston, Alabama, on Monday, August 25, 2008, from 5:00 until 7:00 p.m.In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorials be made to the Alabama Room of the Anniston-Calhoun County Public Library, 108 East Tenth Street, Anniston, Alabama 36201; the Class of 1943 Scholarship Fund, University of Montevallo Foundation, Station 6215, Montevallo, Alabama 35115; or to a favorite charitable organization.