Biography: Audrey Elaine Darby, what an amazing woman she was. Born to the late Milton Darby, Sr. and Dorothy Whaley-Darby on July 8, 1961, Audrey was the middle child of the couple’s eight children. She grew up in Cameron, South Carolina
Audrey attended St. John Elementary and continued onto St. John High School. She was a part of 1979 graduating class. Audrey loved to learn, she was very intelligent and made sure she was an A student. She got the title as the “walking encyclopedia". Once she graduated high school, she attended Denmark Technical College for two semesters. After many trips to the city, she moved to New York in 1981.
Audrey, known to most as Elaine, came to the city ready to make a life of her own. She made sure to surround herself with the love and support of her many family members that were there. Elaine took classes for shorthand and home attending for which she held positions and worked in for sometime.
In July 1983 she welcomed her first daughter Shaquana with Tony Alexandre. In April 1992, the union welcomed their second daughter, Shanaya. Elaine loved her family, she was the matriarch that kept everyone together and uplifted. Even when she only had a kitchenette, she welcomed all her family and
never turned anyone away. She loved her nieces and nephews and cared for them all as her own; she even named most of them. She shared unbreakable bonds with her aunts, cousins and friends along the way. In 1995 she moved to 146th Street where she created another family with her neighbors.
Elaine contributed by starting a daycare, being a building board member, cooking and selling dinners and being Building Security in which she retired from in 2009. After having a very tough year and falling ill in 2008, Elaine began to focus on her family and her health. To know her was to love her. Elaine
connected with others by love of music, dance, and her ability to feed the souls of others with her food. Her grandchildren were the joy of her life: the oldest Sianni, her baby girl Sabella, and as she would say, “the man of the house” her boss man Saviour.
In Audrey‘s last days, she was surrounded by her children and grandchildren. Our phenomenal woman gained her wings on April 15 at Harlem Hospital in New York City.
Preceding her in death is her mother and father, brothers Thomas Darby, Milton Darby, Jr., Johnny Darby, Michael Darby, her granddaughter Sariyah Benjamin and aunts Eliza Glover and Inez Whaley.
She leaves behind daughters Shaquana Darby & Shanaya Darby; granddaughters, Sianni Day & Sabella Darby & grandson Saviour Darby. Her siblings, Sharon Burke (Clinton) of Philadelphia, Pa; Leila Mae Haynes of Saint Matthews, SC; Vincent Darby (Chandra) of Orangeburg, SC; Mildred Scott (Gerod) of Orangeburg, SC; Lucille Dwight of Orangeburg, SC; Thomas Bonaparte; Carolyn Dukes of Elloree, South Carolina. Aunts Alberta Whaley of New York, Mary Louis and Laura Pitts both of Orangeburg, SC. A host of nieces and nephews cousins and friends.
