Anita M. Hinton-Brunson

Anita Melzine Hinton Brunson was born on March 16, 1949 in Durham, North Carolina to the late Delthy Leroy Crawford and Melzie Lee Peterson. Born as one of a set of twin girls, she was preceded in death by her sister Marita Delphine. Anita grew up in Durham surrounded by a large number of loving siblings, attending local schools and graduating in 1967 from Hillside High School. She was baptized as a youngster at Durham’s Oak Grove Freewill Baptist Church. In June of 1967 Anita moved to Baltimore, Maryland where she initially lived with her sister, Wilhelmina (deceased) and her family. She attended Baltimore City Community College earning 56 credits and then transferring to and graduating with honors, from Coppin State University, with a dual degree in Criminal Justice and Sociology, in 1974. She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Mu National Honor Society. Immediately after graduation, Anita entered a Master’s degree program in Counseling at Coppin State University and received her degree with honors in 1976. Her research study on closed cases of vocational rehabilitation clients was presented at the National Vocational Rehabilitation Convention in Hollywood, Florida in September 1976. Always pursuing greater educational and life challenges, she matriculated at the University of Baltimore in 1977-78 in an MBA/Law Degree Program and received a Certificate in Marketing and Procurement at the Howard University School of Business and Public Administration in 1980. For several years after completing her Master’s degree, Anita was employed with a number of companies as a vocational rehabilitation counselor providing assessments and rehabilitative services to the industrially disabled. In June1980, she founded AT& T Counseling Consultants, Inc. opening two offices…one in Baltimore and one in Washington, DC. The company counseled injured workers toward realistic vocational goals and assisted the clients in pursuing and obtaining identified job placements. Later, she opened the AT&T Counseling Consultants and Youth and Family Services, Inc. This venture expanded the array of services to provide Level II Group Home support to at-risk-male youth from age 13-18 years in Baltimore (1994-2009). It is very clear that Anita did not merely coast through life; she lived it…every minute. Her personal life was as full as her professional one. In 1979 she embraced the birth of a daughter, Tynita, and nine years later, in 1988, she welcomed daughter Miagra. Both have provided immense joy, love and pride for her. She met her love and future husband, James, in 1995 and they were married in 2000 in Norfolk, Virginia amidst the cheers and happy tears of a large number of family and friends. They have worked, played and shared life together as a picture- perfect pair since their union. She loved her family…immediate and extended… and this was a driving force in her constant efforts to make sure that the ties that bind were never weakened. This love for family extended to those who were her friends. Anita knew the source of her blessings and had an unwavering belief in the power of prayer and of God. For over 30 years, she was a faithful member of the New Psalmist Baptist Church of Baltimore. Even as her health deteriorated and the struggle became hard, she fought the good fight and sought refuge and strength in her faith. Anita leaves to cherish her memory, her husband, James L. Brunson; daughters, Tynita and Miagra Haines; stepchildren, Tiffani, Ebony, Rossie, Shakeila, and James Leroy, Jr.; an extended family daughter, Barbette Morton; siblings, Ernest, Delthy, Larry (Faye), Ava and Marlo ( predeceased by siblings Delois, Wilhelmina, Carolyn and Marita); a sister/cousin, Gloria Hinton, godmother, Clara Barrett; sister-in-law/journey companion, Eve Byford-Peterson; in-laws, Irean, Pearl, Emma(Berry), Mary, Dena, Brenda(Ben), Michelle(Tony), Charles(Cassandra) and Yancy(Sheila); seven step-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews and a host of other relatives and friends. So who was Anita Melzine Hinton-Brunson? She was considerate, helpful and understanding and people naturally gravitated to her. She was strong in her convictions and had no difficulty in expressing them. She enjoyed family, friends and life and her strength of character and caring is her legacy for those who knew and loved her. She will be missed.

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Anita M. Hinton-Brunson

March 16, 1949 - August 4, 2015