Mae C. Edwards

Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure,
You are loved beyonds words, missed beyond measure.

On Monday, May 15, 2023, after 94 years on this earth, our Heavenly Father, who is the author and finisher of our faith, decided that Mae Willis Edwards had finished her work here and was ready to return home, to be with Him and the other departed family members she so dearly missed. This was her one desire, one that she'd expressed numerous times over the last few years, but she also had hopes of living lon~ enough to see the age of 100. She told her children often that 99 and a half wouldn't do. As we now know, God s plans supersede any plans that we can fathom, but what a life well loved!

Born the third child of four, in Chula, Georgia, to parents Rev. P.J Armstrong and Lillie Armstrong, Mae's family migrated to Trenton when she was 8 years old and there she was educated in the Trenton Public School System. She was a housewife until gaining employment at. Princeton House, a division Princeton Medical Center. She retired after 20 years of service.

Kind, gentle, and generous to a fault, Mae would give you the last of what she had or whatever you needed. You didn't 'have to ask if she knew the need was there. There is not a person that knew her that could say they ever heard her make even a minor derogatory remark about anyone. If she couldn't give you a word of encouragement, she would refrain from saying anything. She was also extremely creative ana took particular interest in making and arranging flowers. Most remember her standing at the corner of Lincoln Avenue on Mother's Day, with her children in tow, selling corsages and boutonnieres, that they had handmade. She transferred her creative abilities to her daughters, who continue to show their creative talent to this day. Just look at the floral arrangements displayed in the room today and know that many of these arrangements started through Mae's instruction and creative visions.

She was also an amazing cook. She could cook meals that would make you mouth water, long after the meal had digested. She was most famous for her sweet potato pie and her chicken and dumplings, but there never a meal that she prepared hat would leave you disappointed.

Preceded in death by husbands Johnnie C. Willis, Sr. and Perry Edwards; her son, Johnnie Willis, Jr.; daughter, Diane Leary; grandsons, Ralph Conquest and Johnnie Clark; two grand-daughters, Fiemica S. Willis, and Cari Willis; great-grandson, Eric U [aba "Willis; great-grand-daughter Neveah Satchell; her parents, Rev. P.J. Armstrong and Lillie Armstrong; brother, James T. Armstrong, Sr.; sisters, Emma Bennett and \Villia Mae Oden.

She leaves a large family to cherish her memories and those survivors include, two sonsClyde (Helen) Willis, and Saladeen D. (Lisa) Willis of Trenton, NJ; two daughters Juanita Jean-Pierre of Hamilton, and Janith Robinson (Frank) of Willingboro, NJ; 39 grandchildren and I extra special grand-daughter, her caretaker, Dara Willis-Staley; 71 great-grandchildren, 68" great-great grandchildren, and 28 great-great-great grandchildren., and a host of nieces, nephew, cousins, other relatives and friends of the family.

We held tightly to her, cherished her as the last of the original Armstrong Family clan and matriarch and made sure she was safe and secure for as long as we were allowed. It is truly with heavy hearts and deep sorrow that we submit this obituary.

Funeral service will be 11am Thursday, May 25, 2023 at Galilee Baptist Church, 440 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Trenton, NJ 08618. Calling hours will be 9am until the time of service. Interment will be at Ewing Cemetery, Ewing, NJ. Arrangements are by Hughes Funeral Home.

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