Note:The following excerpts come from a Feb. 23, 2008, Naples Daily News article by Katy Torralbas. It was one in a series entitled “Evolution of Equality: A lifetime of support.”
She is a matriarch, an inspiration. Annie Mae Perry’s life spans nearly a century, and her story is intertwined with the stories of this community, black and white, young and old.
For decades, she worked days, picking tomatoes, driving a school bus, fixing food in a school lunchroom and caring for young children at a downtown day care. But it was often the middle of the night when she was needed most…