Parents: Mary Anna Pittman Hamer and Lyn Hamer.
Spouse: Lorenza Mays
Children: Vergie Mays Brooks, Shirley Mays Edwards, Lorenza Mays,Jr., Sammy Mays, Marilyn Mays, Gwendolyn Mays Carter.
Willie Ann Hamer Mays was born to Mary Anna Pittman Hamer and Lyn Hamer on November 3, 1916. Willie Ann was four years old when her mother's untimely death led to her being raised by her maternal grandparents, Perry and Georgia Pittman. She was a good student, but educational opportunities for "colored people" in rural Mississippi were limited. She completed 8th grade and engaged in 3 additional years of "review." She earned her GED as an adult and earned her living working in cotton fields and working as a cook and domestic. In later years, she was hired as the Head Cook for the Kilmichael Head Start Program and as a Field Nutritionist for the Montgomery County Extension Service. She retired from the Head Start Program at age 70. She was a member of Wilmount Baptist Church.
Willie Ann was married to Lorenza Mays for sixty-seven years until she was widowed in 2002. They had six children. Three of her children, Vergie, Shirley and Lorenza, Jr., also preceded her in death. Likewise, three of her grandchildren, Jacqueline Mays, Bobby Edwards and Dion Allen preceded her in death.
In her ninety-four years, she touched hundreds of lives and witnessed many world events, including the election of President Barack Obama, for whom she cast her absentee ballot and waited up until the election results were declared.
At age 92, she made the decision to leave her home in Kilmichael and move to Windsor, Connecticut. In the eighteen months that she lived in Connecticut, she enjoyed life to the fullest, making new acquaintances and impressing all who met her with her outgoing personality. She extended southern hospitality to everyone she met. Her care-givers, Elsa and Britney, quickly became her "babies." Elsa, gave her facials and manicures to keep her looking much younger than her years.
On Sunday, December 26, 2010, Willie Ann departed this life and left those who were blessed to be her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and friends.
We thank God for the privilege of having loved and been loved by this most amazing woman.
Spouse: Lorenza Mays
Children: Vergie Mays Brooks, Shirley Mays Edwards, Lorenza Mays,Jr., Sammy Mays, Marilyn Mays, Gwendolyn Mays Carter.
Willie Ann Hamer Mays was born to Mary Anna Pittman Hamer and Lyn Hamer on November 3, 1916. Willie Ann was four years old when her mother's untimely death led to her being raised by her maternal grandparents, Perry and Georgia Pittman. She was a good student, but educational opportunities for "colored people" in rural Mississippi were limited. She completed 8th grade and engaged in 3 additional years of "review." She earned her GED as an adult and earned her living working in cotton fields and working as a cook and domestic. In later years, she was hired as the Head Cook for the Kilmichael Head Start Program and as a Field Nutritionist for the Montgomery County Extension Service. She retired from the Head Start Program at age 70. She was a member of Wilmount Baptist Church.
Willie Ann was married to Lorenza Mays for sixty-seven years until she was widowed in 2002. They had six children. Three of her children, Vergie, Shirley and Lorenza, Jr., also preceded her in death. Likewise, three of her grandchildren, Jacqueline Mays, Bobby Edwards and Dion Allen preceded her in death.
In her ninety-four years, she touched hundreds of lives and witnessed many world events, including the election of President Barack Obama, for whom she cast her absentee ballot and waited up until the election results were declared.
At age 92, she made the decision to leave her home in Kilmichael and move to Windsor, Connecticut. In the eighteen months that she lived in Connecticut, she enjoyed life to the fullest, making new acquaintances and impressing all who met her with her outgoing personality. She extended southern hospitality to everyone she met. Her care-givers, Elsa and Britney, quickly became her "babies." Elsa, gave her facials and manicures to keep her looking much younger than her years.
On Sunday, December 26, 2010, Willie Ann departed this life and left those who were blessed to be her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and friends.
We thank God for the privilege of having loved and been loved by this most amazing woman.
Parents: Mary Anna Pittman Hamer and Lyn Hamer.
Spouse: Lorenza Mays
Children: Vergie Mays Brooks, Shirley Mays Edwards, Lorenza Mays,Jr., Sammy Mays, Marilyn Mays, Gwendolyn Mays Carter.
Willie Ann Hamer Mays was born to Mary Anna Pittman Hamer and Lyn Hamer on November 3, 1916. Willie Ann was four years old when her mother's untimely death led to her being raised by her maternal grandparents, Perry and Georgia Pittman. She was a good student, but educational opportunities for "colored people" in rural Mississippi were limited. She completed 8th grade and engaged in 3 additional years of "review." She earned her GED as an adult and earned her living working in cotton fields and working as a cook and domestic. In later years, she was hired as the Head Cook for the Kilmichael Head Start Program and as a Field Nutritionist for the Montgomery County Extension Service. She retired from the Head Start Program at age 70. She was a member of Wilmount Baptist Church.
Willie Ann was married to Lorenza Mays for sixty-seven years until she was widowed in 2002. They had six children. Three of her children, Vergie, Shirley and Lorenza, Jr., also preceded her in death. Likewise, three of her grandchildren, Jacqueline Mays, Bobby Edwards and Dion Allen preceded her in death.
In her ninety-four years, she touched hundreds of lives and witnessed many world events, including the election of President Barack Obama, for whom she cast her absentee ballot and waited up until the election results were declared.
At age 92, she made the decision to leave her home in Kilmichael and move to Windsor, Connecticut. In the eighteen months that she lived in Connecticut, she enjoyed life to the fullest, making new acquaintances and impressing all who met her with her outgoing personality. She extended southern hospitality to everyone she met. Her care-givers, Elsa and Britney, quickly became her "babies." Elsa, gave her facials and manicures to keep her looking much younger than her years.
On Sunday, December 26, 2010, Willie Ann departed this life and left those who were blessed to be her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and friends.
We thank God for the privilege of having loved and been loved by this most amazing woman.
Spouse: Lorenza Mays
Children: Vergie Mays Brooks, Shirley Mays Edwards, Lorenza Mays,Jr., Sammy Mays, Marilyn Mays, Gwendolyn Mays Carter.
Willie Ann Hamer Mays was born to Mary Anna Pittman Hamer and Lyn Hamer on November 3, 1916. Willie Ann was four years old when her mother's untimely death led to her being raised by her maternal grandparents, Perry and Georgia Pittman. She was a good student, but educational opportunities for "colored people" in rural Mississippi were limited. She completed 8th grade and engaged in 3 additional years of "review." She earned her GED as an adult and earned her living working in cotton fields and working as a cook and domestic. In later years, she was hired as the Head Cook for the Kilmichael Head Start Program and as a Field Nutritionist for the Montgomery County Extension Service. She retired from the Head Start Program at age 70. She was a member of Wilmount Baptist Church.
Willie Ann was married to Lorenza Mays for sixty-seven years until she was widowed in 2002. They had six children. Three of her children, Vergie, Shirley and Lorenza, Jr., also preceded her in death. Likewise, three of her grandchildren, Jacqueline Mays, Bobby Edwards and Dion Allen preceded her in death.
In her ninety-four years, she touched hundreds of lives and witnessed many world events, including the election of President Barack Obama, for whom she cast her absentee ballot and waited up until the election results were declared.
At age 92, she made the decision to leave her home in Kilmichael and move to Windsor, Connecticut. In the eighteen months that she lived in Connecticut, she enjoyed life to the fullest, making new acquaintances and impressing all who met her with her outgoing personality. She extended southern hospitality to everyone she met. Her care-givers, Elsa and Britney, quickly became her "babies." Elsa, gave her facials and manicures to keep her looking much younger than her years.
On Sunday, December 26, 2010, Willie Ann departed this life and left those who were blessed to be her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, relatives and friends.
We thank God for the privilege of having loved and been loved by this most amazing woman.
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