Sylvesta Mae Witherspoon

Sylvesta Mae (Tyree) Witherspoon was born in Bluefield, West Virginia on July 20, 1931 to the late Charles Fleming Tyree and Cora Mae Gill Tyree.  She was the sixth of nine children.

After graduating Bluestone High School in Bramwell, WV 1949, she and her older sister, Rebecca, migrated to New York City.

She held various jobs throughout her life – telephone operator, hotel staff, bookbinder and a clerk at the DMV.  She attended Crown Business Institute where she graduated as the valedictorian of her class.

Sylvesta was the founding director of the Headstart/Quickstart Daycare Center, which is still in existence today.  Her most fulfilling job was the director of the Multi-Service Center #1 – a neighbor empowerment and enrichment community center.

Sylvesta met Clarence E. Witherspoon Jr. in NY, and they married in February 1954. From this union five children were born – Hazel, Gwen, Patricia, Michael and Rebecca.

Together, her and Clarence spent many years as community activists working for the enrichment of their community.

Education was their passion, which led to the community elementary school (P.S. 45) being renamed the Clarence E. Witherspoon school, which Sylvesta was so proud to support.

Sylvesta had the privilege of being a founding member and Past President of the 149st Block Association of Queens NY, which honored her with a certificate of recognition for her years of services.

Sylvesta’s various hobbies include gardening, singing in various church choirs and playing cards.  In her later years, she loved traveling with her family. Another favorite pastime was her nightly viewing of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, which everyone in the family knew, not to call her during that time.

After retirement, she relocated to Roanoke, VA and became a member of Pilgrim Baptist Church and served as a member of the Missionary Ministry. She also became the secretary of the local VFW.

Sylvesta relocated to Charlotte, NC to be closer to family.  She joined Reeder Memorial Baptist Church where she was very active in the Hymn Choir and other activities.

Sylvesta attended the March on Washington in 1963 and was very passionate about the right to vote, which is why working at the polls was very important to her.

She was often described as “feisty” and known as someone who spoke her mind.

Some of her frequent sayings were – “This too shall pass”, “Fair to midland, midland to fair”, “Steal from Peter to pay Paul”, “Throw the rock and hide your hand”, “One lies and the other one swears”, “Who do you think you are, Big Chief Wahoo?” and “God takes care of fools and babies”.

Sylvesta was preceded in death by her husband Clarence Witherspoon, her siblings Moses Tyree, Louis Tyree, Sarah Hightowers, Rebecca Tyree, Naomi Tyree, Ruth Freedman and Charles Tyree as well as her grandson, Desmond Moore.

Her legacy will continue on through her sister Sally Alexander (So. Ozone Park, NY) and her five children – Hazel Witherspoon (Piscataway, NJ), Gwen Glaubach (Charlotte, NC), Patricia Dyer (Stephen) (So. Ozone Park, NY), Michael Witherspoon (Warrenton, NC) and Rebecca Witherspoon (Charlotte, NC).

Her ten grandchildren – Michelle(Jeff), Nelson, Charles, Stephen Curtis Jr, Angela (David), Michael Jr, Justus, Darius and Keonay and her six great-grandchildren – Madison, Michelle, Alexis, Gabriel, Megan and  lil David,  along with a host of family and friends.

******Live Stream******

Reeder Memorial Baptist Church will be streaming the Funeral Service live, August 14, 2021 @ 12 Noon on their Facebook or You Tube Page.