Susan Angry

Angry—Susan Angry, 94, on January 10, 2019, at Kendal at Longwood in Kennett Square, Pa. Sue was born on November 29, 1924, in rural Sumter County, Ga., an only child raised by her beloved grandparents in a two-room rustic dwelling. Her grandmother worked as a housekeeper on a southern plantation. Her grandfather was disabled from a stroke. They bestowed tremendous love on her and instilled in her a strong belief in herself. “You’re just as good as anyone and skin color doesn’t make one person more than another,” they taught her, and she taught her own children this same truth.

In 1954, when she was 30, Sue, her husband, and their then six children became the first family of color to move to Koinonia Partners, a cooperative farm community in Sumter County that had been established by Clarence Jordan and was based on the Christian practices of love, tolerance, equality, and peace. As the civil rights era intensified, Koinonia became a target of violence. The farm was boycotted; vandals cut fences, dumped garbage on the land, and bombed the roadside produce stand. Then began the drive-by shootings. Sue’s children vividly remember hiding under beds to avoid the bullets pummeling the houses. In 1957, she moved her family north and soon thereafter settled in Chester County, Pa., where the Dixon family, who were members of Goshen Meeting, welcomed them on their farm and provided caring, housing, and work. Sue became active in Goshen Meeting and served it and the community in many ways. She clerked the meeting, the Worship and Ministry Committee, and the Goshen Friends School Committee. A deep, beloved listener who believed in giving to the communities where she lived, she participated in Habitat for Humanity and served on the board of the Hickman retirement community and La Comunidad Hispana in Kennett Square. In later years she volunteered at Encore, a local clothing resale shop.

A spiritual anchor in Goshen Meeting, for years she closed meeting for worship and opened a period of worship sharing with the words: “This meeting always takes some time to reflect on the morning and to share any images or feelings you may have.” She considered herself a mom to many who were not her biological children and emphasized with clarity and authority that God was in charge.

This longtime member and elder was a spiritual friend to many well beyond the walls of Goshen Meeting. Living her last 24 years at Kendal at Longwood, she befriended residents and staff alike, sharing freely and embodying love. She had 11 children and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Her family blessed the meeting with their presence over many years, bring joy with the love they exuded just as she did. She had wisdom as well as love. When friends and family would tell her how amazing she was, she would often answer, “I didn’t get where I am overnight.” The world is a better place because of Sue Angry’s life.

Sue is survived by five children, Clifford Angry, Walter Angry, William C. Angry, Evelyn Angry-Smith, and Kathy Angry Scutter.

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