Obituary of Mother Addie Lee McCants

Addie Lee Cooper McCants peacefully went home to be with the Lord on Sunday, August 26, 2018.  She was surrounded by her loving children. 

Addie, affectionately known as Mother McCants, Aunt Addie, Cousin Addie, Grandmom and last but not least, Mom, was born in Hemingway, South Carolina on February 11, 1918.  At the young age of 5, she accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as her savior and lived her entire life as His faithful servant.  She married the love of her life, Samuel McCants, in 1938.  In 1942, Samuelmoved to Delaware to begin work at DuPont and to set up a home for their growing family, and in 1947 Mother McCants joined Samuel in Wilmington along with their 4 young children.  Over the next 15 years, the couple would have 4 more children, bringing the total to 8. After moving to Wilmington, Mother McCants joined Ebenezer Baptist Church at its original location at 727 Vandever Avenue in Wilmington.  In 1964, she became a founding member of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church, also in Wilmington. For 50 years, Mother McCants was a mainstay in Mt Sinai’s congregation, and her sweet presence, loving disposition, and beautiful smilebrightened every service.  She was active in many committees and ministries: Founder and President of the Nurses’ Unit, Founder of the Inspirational Chorus, member of the Senior Choir, and Co-Founder of the Willing Workers.  While keeping up her busy schedule at Mt Sinai, Mother McCants was also employed by Reynolds Nursing Home, B&G Restaurant, and Tilton Terrace (now Regency Rehabilitation Center).  She retired form Tilton Terrace in 1975 with many awards and accolades for her service, but continued to work in service to God.  One of Mother McCants’ proudest accomplishments was the founding of Mt Sinai Family and Friends Day, formerly known as McCants Relations Family Day.  Mother McCants startedFamily & Friends Day in 1965to raise funds to purchase Mt Sinai’s building at 600 S. Heald Street. At Family & Friends Day, one could always count on Mother McCants leading the McCants Relation Singers in their rendition of “I Don’t Know What You Came To Do”, as she shouted in the isles and praised the Lord.This year,Family & Friends Day will celebrate its 54th anniversary, and continues as a way for us to give thanks to God for the blessing of family bonds. When Mother McCants was not in church or raising her family, she enjoyed needlepoint, sewing, and her volunteer work with the Boys and Girls Club of Wilmington. Through the years, Mother McCants and her husband opened their doors as a temporary home to relatives in search of work who moved to Delaware from South Carolina during the Great Migration.  Lastly, Mother McCants was blessed with the opportunity to travel with her husband and children to locales such as the Caribbean islands, Florida, the Appalachian mountains, and on various cruises.

Mother McCants was known to be a sharp dresser, always showing up at events in her best dress or suit, and color-coordinated from head to toe.  She also wore the most fabulous hats, owning a collection numbering close to 100.  Today, each of her daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters who are old enough are wearing one of her beautiful hats to honor her.

She was preceded in death by her parents, William and Della Cooper; her husband, Samuel E. McCants; sons Samuel McCants, Tommie Lee McCants, and Alexander Bey McCants; stepson Clyde Benjamin (Iserine); daughter-in-law Cathy Tilghman McCants; siblings Ellinda Cooper, Sarah Barr (Clifford), Hessie Cooper (Norman), Odie Mae Eaddy (Robert), James Cooper, Hugee Cooper (Sara), Zeno Cooper (Getha), Louise Brown (Julie), and Ellie Cooper. 

Mother McCants is survived by her children: Irene Wilson (John), James H. McCants, Alvilta Morin (Donald), Jerome McCants,all of Wilmington, DE, and Sandra McCants of West Palm Beach, FL; daughters-in-law Brenda McCants and Valerie Bateman McCants of Wilmington, DE; stepson Charles Hanna (Margaret) of Lake City, SC.  Additionally, Mother McCants raised two granddaughters: Marcia McCants of Tampa, FL, and Charlene Collier of Baltimore, MD.  Mother McCants also leaves to cherish her memory 37 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, 15 great-great grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. 

Mother McCants led a most extraordinary life, and was blessed with good health.  During her 100 years, she saw the birth and proliferation of things we take for granted, such as electricity, indoor plumbing, movies and television; she witnessed history, including the first black Supreme Court Justice, Brown v Board of Education, and the election of our first black president; and she endured struggle by perseveringthrough Jim Crow and the systemic oppression of black people; she suffered through heartbreak in losing her husband and three children.  Through it all, though, Mother McCants trusted in God and stayed strong in her faith, often quoting Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens