Biography:

Carrie Mae Henry Wells Marshall was born on December 20, 1933, to James Wells and Mary Henry Wells in Lynchburg, S.C. According to her mother, “she was born good.” After living an exemplary life of service to God, her family, friends, and neighbors, she transitioned on October 5, 2024.

Her unyielding devotion to and faith in God Almighty started from birth at her home in Lynchburg, SC. They were reinforced at Mount Pleasant AME, Lynchburg, SC, and were reaffirmed at Salem United Methodist Church, Harlem, NY. She faithfully fellowshipped at her beloved Salem since 1955, at the invitation of her late Uncle James and Aunt Margaret Faulk. She, however, would not measure her Christian values by the amount of time she spent in church or her biblical scholarship. Instead, her measure is the decades of quiet virtuous deeds, the number of lives touched, and the spirits awakened at her kitchen table or living room sofa. Confidential wise counsel, selfless acts, and non-judgmental observations were her calling cards.

 Carrie was the second oldest of five children. (James Wells, Nathaniel Wells, Ernest Wells, and Margaret (Wells) Benn). She loved to say, “I raised my brothers and sister.” Throughout her life, she loved and cared for each of them without conditions. In turn, they did everything and anything to bring her joy and happiness for which she was profoundly grateful. For example, when her younger brother Nathaniel was in hospice, without fail she visited him daily until God called him home. She welcomed her siblings and their children into her home with open arms, without fanfare or complaint. She just made space. She loved all of her sibling’s children with equal measure. Her greatest expressions were hugs, kisses, fellowship, and homemade sweet potato pies.

 Carrie graduated from Dennis High School in Bishopville, Lee County, SC in 1954. It was there that she developed a passion for reading. In the fall of 1954, she migrated to Long Island, New York where she lived with Uncle James and Aunt Margaret Faulk. In 1956 she moved to Harlem, NY, and worked various jobs, including manufacturing as an assembly line worker, and retired as a private home health aide at age 65. In 1957 her brother Nathaniel migrated to New York and lived with Carrie. In 1958, her brother Nathaniel invited

Carrie to a card party at the home of Mary Haigler, Carrie’s future sister-in-law, where she met one Robert L. Marshall (deceased). On September 13, 1959, they were married at the home of Uncle James and Aunt Margaret in Uniondale, New York. Together they had three children, Gregory Mark Marshall (deceased), Mitchell Graham Marshall, and Darrell Andrew Marshall, Esq. She was, in her own words, “a good mother.” She was also “a phenomenal well-read woman.” Amen. She and Robert L. raised their family in the village of East Harlem along with a unified community of families. She briefly left the workforce to be a stay-at-home mom until her youngest child matriculated to junior high school. She attended  PTA meetings, chaperoned school trips, and reinforced the importance of “a good education.”  It was in East Harlem that she fully evolved into the person that most of us remember.

She cared for others as much as she cared for herself. Carrie’s open-door and loving-arms policy was not limited to family members. She developed and maintained meaningful relationships with a cross-section of folks who were not related by blood. Since her passing, many folks have come forward to mourn her transition and offer her sons

condolences, which were all well received. However, between their tears of sorrow is a series of extraordinary personal stories and confessions reaffirming the proclamation that “she was born good.”
 
She wrapped her arms around every person, her heart around every soul, and her mind around every problem that came through her door. As a bonus, she knew how to have fun. Never was there a day that she was not resolute and convinced of her purpose: to lift every spirit with which she came into contact, as it was her ordained vocation. As she aged, she admitted that her “body is weak, but her mind is strong.” She could not lift weights, but she could still lift any spirit. She soldiered bravely and confidently without complaint or anxiety until her last day. Instead, she sought reassurance that everyone else was in a good space and everything was in order, but if they were not, she advised that we  “put it in God’s hand.” Carrie Henry Wells is a treasure to her family and community.

Carrie had a flair for fashion, a nose for perfume, and an insatiable appetite for reading. As she aged, she read more until she became visually challenged. She loved both fiction and nonfiction. One of her favorite books was “In Search of Other Suns” by Isabel Wilkerson. Carrie was also committed to health and nutrition. She and her son Mitchell together created some masterful vegetarian dishes over the years, including homemade sorbet, whole wheat pancakes, and the like.

Carrie leaves to build upon her legacy her sons: Mitchell Graham Marshall, and Darrell Andrew Marshall, Esq. (Karen Facey-Marshall, wife), her daughter-in-law: Robin Marshall, her “daughter”: Delilah Santos; her grandchildren: Gregory Marshall, Carrie B. Marshall, Euvalyn Shoshana Marshall, Teria Santos, Kayani Facey, Cooper Marshall, Anastasia Burrowes, Khye Facey-Marshall, Jesse Karim Williams, Eurickea Toon, LaShawn Toon,  her great-grandchildren: Brianna Marshall, Jujuan Marshall, Madison Marshall, Gavin Marshall, Dominique Fason, Riley Marshall, Noah Hassim, and  Mionne Santos; brothers-in-law: Rev. Dr. John Marshall, George Marshall; sister-in-law: Sue Chukes, and bonus-daughters: Barbara Williams-Dunn, Linda Toon, and Shiela Marshall. She also leaves a multitude of close cousins, nieces, nephews, friends, neighbors, and fellow worshipers, along with that small southern town and East Harlem community she called home during her glorious lifetime.