Nina Mae McAllister

MCALLISTER, Mrs. Nina Mae - age 99, passed away, Tuesday, October 13, 2015 at Crittenton Hospital. Family hour 10:30 AM Friday, October 23, 2015 at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, 168 Prospect Street, with funeral service commencing immediately at 11:00 AM. Pastor Lorenzo Robertson, officiating. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the church 10:30 AM Friday. Mrs. McAllister will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home, 268 N. Perry St., and may be viewed from 1:00 PM - 8:00PM Thursday. The family will be present to receive friends from 5:00PM - 8:00 PM Thursday. Mrs. Nina Mae McAllister was born April 26, 1916 in Pulaski, Tennessee. Nina was the youngest of thirteen children born to the union of Robert Gordon and Harriet Kennedy. The family moved to Decatur, Alabama when she was a young girl. Nina grew up in a three room house on four acres of land. Her parents were farmers who lived off the land. Nina had fond memories of her life with her family in Decatur. While in Decatur, she worked as a seamstress at Montgomery Ward’s Department Store. Nina moved to Pontiac, Michigan in the early fifties. She later met the love of her life, Arthur McAllister at the first Kennedy family reunion in Cleveland, Ohio. They were married at the home of James and Ruth Mitchell in Pontiac, Michigan in 1953. They remained devoted to each other until Arthur’s death in 2007. Nina had no biological children but had two daughters through marriage. Nina was known for her sewing ability often making her own outfits including hats and shoes. Nina and Arthur enjoyed being around family. They often took trips down south to visit family members. She was a surrogate mother of her many nieces and nephews. They often took their surrogate children on family outings picking up all expenses. Nina accepted Christ at a young age. At the time of her passing she was member of New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church Family. Nina enjoyed going to church on Sunday’s and listening to her Pastor deliver the word. Nina was also a sports fan. She loved to watch baseball, basketball and football. She also enjoyed her “Snickers” candy bar. Nina was looking forward to her 100th birthday so she could get a birthday card from President Obama. She did vote in the last election and was happy to see our first black president. Nina didn’t want any flowers for her funeral but instead wanted the money donated to a children’s organization. Nina leaves to cherish her passing her two step daughters, Belinda (Frank) Johnson of Ann Arbor, MI and Doris Wilkes of Pontiac, MI; grandchildren, Christina Childs of Pontiac, MI, Darrell Johnson of Portage, MI, Johnnie Childs of Pontiac, MI, Wesley Johnson of Chatsworth, CA, Yorka Tutstone of Rochester, MI and Tiffany Thach of Pontiac, MI; ten great grandchildren; nieces, Ruth Helen Harris of Athens, AL, Margaret (William) Love of Southfield, MI, Dorothy (Lincoln) Stewart of Nashville, TN, Ruth (James) Mitchell of Pontiac, MI, Billie Joyce Walker of Cleveland, OH, Carolyn Gaiter of Cleveland Heights, OH, Nina Mae Bankston of Decatur, AL; nephews, Pathon Swoope, Jimmie Swoope and Wendell (Veda) Swoope all of Cleveland, OH, Leo Gray of Decatur, AL Calvin McKissack; and multiple generations of great nieces and nephews and a host of friends. Nina was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur McAllister; parents, Robert Gordon and Harriett Kennedy; twelve siblings.

Nina Mae McAllister

April 26, 1916 - October 13, 2015