BEN BREWINGTON SR.
May 22, 1922 - July 11, 2005
Mr. Ben Brewington Sr. was born in Sampson County on May 22, 1922, to the late Erie Merritt and Georgiana Merritt.
He was called by our Lord on July 11, 2005, to transcend from life to eternity. He bravely fought a challenging illness and went on to a new and better home.
Ben was educated at Dillard and then went to serve his country in the U.S. Army. After serving in the military he began his career as a brick mason in Washington, D.C. and various cities throughout North Carolina and Virginia. Later he served as a cook at O'Berry Center delighting all with his cuisine.
In the early 1960s he joined Saint Mark Church of Christ and later became a deacon of the church. In the early seventies, Deacon Ben Brewington had a dream. He became an advocate for human rights and worked to improve the living conditions of the East End Section of Goldsboro. He was one of the founders of the East End Action Group and served as president for many years. During the 90s, a street, Ben Brewington Court, was named in his honor. It was the first time in the history of Goldsboro that city officials honored the hard work of an outstanding civic leader who was still living by naming a street after him.
He was also actively involved in many organizations, serving as president of the New Member Club (St. Mark Church), Captain of Group 14 (St. Mark Church), trustee of Goldsboro Raleigh Assembly, trustee of J.W. Hood Lodge, board member of WAGES, member of the Citizen Advisory Board (City of Goldsboro), member of the Grand Jury Commission Board, and member of WACO Political Action Committee.
Ben Brewington had three devoted wives, Alberta Coley, Jennie Harris and Ruby Braswell, who all preceded him in death.
He had three sons, Bennie (Laila) Brewington Jr., the late Reginald (Brenda) Brewington, Broderick Cornell Brewington, also a grandson, Phillip Brewington (reared as a son), all of Goldsboro, and four daughters, Delores Jones of Brooklyn, N.Y., Dr. Margaret Brewington-Douglass of Richmond, Va., Sonja (Freddie) Barksdale of New Castle Delaware and Myra Brewington of Dallas, Texas. He leaves 22 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren; two sisters-in-law, Azelene Merritt and Mary McKinnie; and a host of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and other devoted relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be held at St. Mark Church of Christ, 700 W. Ash St., Goldsboro, on Friday, July 15, at 11 a.m. Burial will be in Wayne Memorial Park North. The wake will be held at Rhodes Funeral Home on Slocumb Street, Goldsboro, on Thursday, July 14, from 7 until 8 p.m. The public is cordially invited.
(Written & Paid by the Family)
Published in Obituaries on July 14, 2005 1:46 PM