Maisie Redd

MAISIE LOUISE WILSON REDD'S life was the epitome of Emerson's thoughts and words. Her image was of courage, humility and largeness of heart. She made flowers bloom, rooms brighten, laughter ensure, and lives, even those who disagreed with her, change. Despite setbacks, disappointments, and debilitating illnesses through her eighty-three years, she showed, and more importantly, taught us how to trust God and accept God's will as it evolves for our good. Maisie was born August 24, 1922, the youngest child of Mazie Ricks Wilson and George Houston Wilson. She was also the last of Margaret and Calvin Wilson's thirty-five grandchildren and Edward Ricks and Georgiana Taylor's two grandchildren. Her husbands, Harvey Redd and Jessie Burton, her parents, grandparents, sister, Doris and Brother, Lloyd, all preceded her in death. Louise, as some called her, had a passion for exploring the depths of life, living on the edge of adventure, and growing through informal and formal education. A product of Baltimore public schools, Coppin State College, Cortez Peters Business School, University of Delaware, and Boston College, she was especially proud of her role in inspiring her children, Gerald and Sheila, in obtaining college degrees and successful professional careers. She worked for over thirty years as a Baltimore City School Secretary and in most of those years assumed the unofficial position of Executive Assistant to the principal. She inspired, encouraged, and assisted in the careers of many of Baltimore City's renowned past educators. She touched the lives, nurtured and encouraged many, who often came back to say, "thank you' Louise was a proud eight-decade member of the First Baptist Church on Caroline Street where she was a former President of the Historical Committee, a huge supporter of the Boosters soup kitchen and a part-time secretary. Although her last decade was spent in West Baltimore, East Baltimore ran through her blood and she would not hesitate to extol to any listener how proud she was of being an East Baltimore girl. She leaves to mourn one devoted son and daughter, Gerald W. Burton and Sheila Redd-Simpson; one daughter-in-law, Gloria Burton; one son-in-law, George E. Simpson; one granddaughter, Angela Burton; two grandsons, Gerald Burton and Victor Johnson; four great-grandchildren, Whitney, Vashti, Marvin and Joshua; a loving niece, Donna Garfinkle; devoted friends, Miss Ella, Annie Crosby and Alma Reed; and a host of other relatives and friends. Finally She Is Now At Peace At Home With Her Savior.

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Maisie Redd

August 24, 1922 - February 9, 2006