Fernandina mourns loss of local educator, historian and preservationist

Obituary
November 5, 2014 12:02 p.m.

Willie Mae Hardy Ashley was born to the late Annie Mae Mercer Hardy and Deacon OscarHardy on May 24, 1922.  She joined First Missionary Baptist Church as a young child and was an active member throughout her life.

The fourth of five children, she grew up in Fernandina and graduated as valedictorian of the Peck High class of 1940. Her siblings, Elizabeth Harris, Allein Williams, Blanche Williams and Robert Hardy, all preceded her in death.

She earned a B.S. degree from Bethune Cookman College, completed graduate school at the University of Michigan and received the M. Ed. degree from Florida A&M University. At First Missionary Baptist Church (FMBC) she served in many roles as required, substitute Sunday school teacher, pianist for church, Sunday school, and Vacation Bible School sessions, and delegate to the National Baptist Convention.

The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Mrs. Ashley was Teacher of the Year 1964 and 65, and was an honored guest at the National Baptist Convention in 1990. She served as President of the Nassau County Teachers Association, was an active life member of the national Council of Negro Women and the National Education Association and served as the delegate to the NEA convention for many years.

Her dedication to Peck High and all of its students was a life-long commitment: she served on the committee and undertook research and letter writing across the state in the efforts to gain historical status for the building and for its restoration. In a city wide celebration on March 6, 2004, the Peck Center Auditorium as renamed the Willie Mae Hardy Ashley Auditorium.

She is the author of “Far From Home”, a biography of Emma B. Delaney, a member of FMBC, who was one of the early African American female missionaries to Africa.

She was known throughout the community as the historian of African American life in the area. Her research, a collection of writings on the history of African Americans in Fernandina Beach, is compiled in the unpublished, but studied work, “The Ebony
Connection”.

Willie Mae Hardy Ashley was always ready for a new adventure and she traveled
throughout the United States, Europe and West and Southern Africa. She loved to read and was a great collector of books and African Art.

She leaves to mourn her loss and celebrate her legacy a host of nieces, nephews and friends.

The Viewing will take place on Friday, November 7, from 5-8 p.m. at her home church, First Missionary Baptist Church, 20 South 9th Service will be held Saturday, November 8, at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, 1600 South 8th Street, Fernandina Beach. Arrangements in care of Funerals By T. S. Warden 904-765-1234