Mrs. Carrie Lee Wilder Whitfield, 93, died Thursday, January 28, 2010, in Salters, due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Funeral services, directed by the Rev. Jimmy L. Brockington, the Rev. Obed Conyers and the Rev. James E. Council, were held Wednesday, February 3, 2010, at Marion Missionary Baptist Church in Salters. Burial, directed by Redmond-Richardson Funeral Home, followed at Salters Cemetery in Salters.
Mrs. Whitfield was born January 5, 1917, a daughter of the late Mae Bell Wilder and the Rev. Johnny Felder. She was married to the late Ernest Whitfield. She was preceded in death by three children, Rannie, Johnny and Dan Whitfield. She attended and was educated in the public schools of Williamsburg County. She worked as a farmer most of her life. She was a housekeeper for many families in Kingstree and New York City, New York. She was a member of St. Matthews Missionary Baptist Church, where she was field missionary for the Williamsburg Baptist Association; vice president of the usher board; president of the missionary board and the “Mother of the Church.” She was also a member of the Farmer’s Aid Lodge. Survivors are: three daughters, Carolyn W. Shaw (James) of Florence; Ernestine W. Wright of New York, New York; and Essie Hilton (William Moody) of the home; one son, Harry T. Whitfield (Bobbie Fulton) of Salters; seven adopted daughters, Dorothy Gamble, Beatrice Anderson, Julia Stephenson and Mary Ann McElveen, all of Salters; Rose Gamble and Persennia Miller, both of Kingstree; and Barbara McCray of Pineville; seven adopted sons, Carol Burgess of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Taylor Burgess of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida; Leroy Wilson of Kingstree; Deak Brown of Pineville; Nell Bryant of Salters; the Rev. Wayne Montgomery (Louise) and James Maxwell (Robin), both of Lane; one sister, Dorothy Izzard of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 13 grandchildren; 21 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.