The loss of a member of the Merriweather family feels a lot like losing a member of my own family

BY DEWITT LEE III

EVELYN “PATTI” MERRIWEATHER FERGUSON

The Merriweathers are and will forever be cherished and celebrated in our community, and is one of the greatest Black entrepreneurial families we have ever known. Their inter-generational degrees of greatness and service to us all has been a shining of example of what community has and needs to be.

Many years ago, in every neighborhood or village there would be families who were historically responsible and known for serving a particular need of the people. This wouldn’t be possible without each generation understanding how vital their families’ contribution to the community was and then dedicate their lives to the continuation and elevation of it, and we can credit the dearly departed EVELYN “PATTI” MERRIWEATHER-FERGUSON for being a faithful steward of the Merriweather legacy.

She committed her life to the survival and success of the criterion newspaper, and for that we owe and offer her our deepest appreciation. She allowed her other passions for people to be on display and put into action in many other ways, outside Patti will fondly be remembered for the full life she lived impacting others in a variety of ways.

The Merriweather family has always been there for us and during this difficult time of the mourning of EVELYN PATTI MERRIWEATHER FERGUSON, we share their mourning, just as they have shared our moments in their publication for over 100 years.

On behalf of the Lee family, I would like to extend our deepest condolences and most heartfelt prayers to the Merriweather family, her husband of over 4 decades, her two sons, and all of those impacted by this devastating loss. We all can take comfort that she is in the presence of the Lord in paradise and experiencing a joyful reunion with her parents and loved ones who welcomed her with a resounding, well done and welcome home!