Annie Mae (Wilson) Strong

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.      Ecclesiastes 12:7  

Visitation will be held Friday, November 8, 2019, 2:30 - 7:30 pm, Ideal Funeral Parlor, 106 East Darlington Street, Florence,SC. Funeral service will be held Saturday,12:00 Noon, November 9, 2019, New Ebenezer Baptist Church, 307 South Ravenel Street, Florence, SC  with burial in the New Saint John United Methodist Church, Lake City, SC.

As we gather in the spirit of celebration, to honor the life of a matriarch, loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin and friend; our hearts are heavy but we must accept God’s will and honor him for the eighty-one beautiful years, he allowed our loved one to remain here on earth. Annie Mae Wilson Strong was the third child born to the late Robbie Wilson and Annie Nowlin Wilson on May 8, 1938 in Lake City, South Carolina. During the early morning hour of Monday, November 4, 2019, MUSC- Health/ Florence Medical Center, Florence, South Carolina, she made her transition from her earthly home to her Heavenly home, joining those family members who have gone before her.  

Growing up in a spiritual home, her spiritual foundation originated at St. John United Methodist Church, Lake City, SC and Goodwill Baptist Church, Kingstree, SC.  Annie Mae attended the public schools of Florence County School District 3 and was a 1956 graduate of Carver High School.  She was a pioneer in her family because she was the first member of her immediate family to attend college. Ann as she was affectionately known was a 1960 graduate of Benedict College, Columbia, SC. After graduating from college, she began her teaching career at Cades Hebron High School, in Cades, South Carolina as a home economics teacher. She taught there from 1960-1963 before migrating to Brooklyn, New York in search of better opportunities. During the summer of 1964, she met a handsome, charming, soft-spoken, and gentle man named Leroy Strong who became her husband on September 9, 1965. After arriving in New York, she worked various jobs because during this era Blacks were not allowed to teach without a master’s degree. After the Ocean Hill - Brownsville Teacher’s Strike of 1968, Annie Mae demonstrated her resilience and the will to excel in life by securing a teaching position in the Brooklyn, New York school system as a junior high school home economics/science teacher at  P.S. 41 and years later I.S. 271; excelling in the profession. After many years in the profession, Ann returned to school earning a Master’s Degree in Health and Nutrition from New York University. During the latter five years of her career, she was partnered  as the Director of Special Needs programming, which included dropout prevention at I.S. 271, a position she held until her retirement in 1993. Annie Mae and Leroy remained in Brooklyn, NY until 1974, then they moved to Long Beach, Long Island, New York.

She was an avid traveler. Traveling abroad was a yearly event, which she was zealous about; visiting every continent except Greenland. Just to mention a few which included: South and West Africa, China, Japan, Europe, Egypt, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, Canada Jerusalem and the majority of the Caribbean Islands. Many of these excursions were with the Ladies of the Les Dames Congenial Social Club, where she was a long standing member. Annie had a unique sense of humor and a contagious laugh. She was also vivacious and active in community and church activities, while in New York.   Her family members knew that behind the laughter was an outspoken, no-nonsense individual who detest mediocracy. While living in New York, Annie served faithfully at Mt Carmel Baptist Church, Far Rockaway, NY and Shiloh Baptist Church, Rockville Center, NY serving at both churches as a member of the missionary society. She was a member of several organizations: New York Retired Teachers Association, Federation of Teachers, Benedict College New York Alumni Chapter, and Just Friends Org.

In December  2003, with the desire  to return to her original roots for a more peaceful and serene lifestyle during their senior years, Annie Mae and  Leroy returned to Florence, South Carolina.  They quickly found a place to worship and became members of New Ebenezer Baptist Church in 2004. Annie Mae served faithfully until her health started declining.

She was preceded in death by: her parents; Robbie and Annie Wilson; siblings, Mae Bell Wilson Singletary, Viola Wilson Cooper, Elizabeth Wilson Jones, Robell Wilson White, Hattie Jane Wilson Lindsey, Eugene Wilson, Leroy Wilson, Alva Lee Wilson, Mack Ben Wilson and Samuel Wilson.

She leaves her legacy to live on with her family as they celebrate her memories: loving husband, Leroy Strong, Florence, SC; children, Rex (Sheliah) Strong, Woodridge, NJ, Yvette (Patrick) Strong-Reid, and Rosalind Strong- Finch both of Florence, SC; grandchildren, Dara Finch, Columbia, SC , Alex and Sean Reid both of Florence, SC; siblings, Helena Holmes, Landing, NJ and Christine (Kenneth) Peguese, Lake City SC; sisters-in-law, Mary and Roy Lee Wilson both of Lake City, SC, Henrietta Strong, East Point, GA, and Teronal Wilson, Columbia, SC; brothers- in- law, John V Cooper, Orangeburg, SC and Jim Lindsey, Denver, CO; special friends, Joan Woodard, NC, Elizabeth Jackson, Augusta, GA, and Rebecca Fulton, Kingstree, SC; several nieces, nephews, cousins, and the New Ebenezer Church Family.

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