MARY SUSAN ELIZABETH WOOTEN KING
Mary Susan Elizabeth Wooten King, 92, (nicknamed "Sue Lee" or "Sue"), was born Oct. 17, 1925, in Goldsboro, N.C.
She was the first of two children born to Julia Mae Wooten DeArman. Sue Lee lived with her grandparents, Oscar and Henrietta Wooten, in a neighborhood known as Little Washington and attended School St. School, (formerly Colored Graded School), a segregated school with limited offerings and facilities. While there, Sue excelled in singing and recitation. She won first prize in the eighth grade declamatory contest reciting "Paul Revere's Ride." She won second place in the Jr. Oratorical contest reciting her interpretation of "I Hear America Singing" by Walt Whitman.
Sue Lee attended Dillard High School and was a member of the Dillard Glee Club. She graduated from Dillard in 1942, ranked fourth in her class. Although the top two students usually spoke at graduation, Sue was recognized as a talented speaker and was allowed to speak as well.
After high school, Sue went to Enfield, N.C., to work as a secretary to a farm demonstration agent. She was admitted to Hampton Institute in Hampton, Va., in 1943, majoring in business education, with a minor in social studies. Sue met Hinton King in 1946 when he returned to Hampton after enlisting in the Army in 1943. They were married on Jan. 24, 1948, at a wedding chapel in Elkton, Md., the Quickie Wedding Capitol of the East Coast.
Sue and Hinton's first child, Beverly Jeanne, was born in December 1948. After Hinton graduated from Hampton in May 1949, the couple moved to Brooklyn, N.Y. Their second child, Thomas Bernard, was born in October 1950. They moved to Queens, N.Y., in 1954 and their third child, Susan Elizabeth, was born in May 1958. Sue was a substitute teacher between 1963 and 1965.
She took graduate courses at St. John's University and Hofstra University, and eventually earned a master's degree at New York University. Sue taught at Woodrow Wilson High School, Francis Lewis High School, Ida B. Wells High School and Long Island City High School until she retired in 1984.
As a child, Sue attended First African Baptist Church of Goldsboro, N.C. After accepting Christ as Savior, she was baptized at age 16. As an adult, she was a devoted member of Bethany Baptist Church, Christ's Gospel Baptist Church, and Trinity Baptist Church in Queens, N.Y. When she moved to High Point, N.C., in 2008, she was a member of Shiloh Rock Baptist Church of Jamestown. She was also an active member of the National Hampton Alumni Association Inc. She loved to travel and visited many countries including Israel, Italy, Germany and Canada, as well as Hawaii and the Caribbean.
Sue was the oldest living member of the Wooten clan. She was preceded in death by her husband, Hinton; her son, Bernard; and her brother, Benjamin Williams.
She will be mourned by her daughters, Beverly King and Susan King Beneventi. She is survived by six grandchildren, Kristina King Mosby, Shea Furey-King, Kieran Furey-King, Mary Ying Furey-King, Rory Furey-King and Finnegan Furey-King; and one great-grandchild, Ni'kyla King.
A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, at 11:30 a.m. at Wayne Memorial Park, 2925 U.S. 117 South, Dudley, N.C. There will be a viewing held on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Services of compassionate and distinguished class entrusted to J.B. Rhodes Funeral Home and Cremation of Goldsboro.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on December 18, 2017 8:05 AM