Annie Bunch, Age 91 - Longtime Ossining Resident

Annie Bunch, affectionately known as ‘Grandma Annie’ & ‘Aunt Doll’, was born October 19, 1923, in Windsor, NC to the late Rhodes Bond Sr. and the late Beatrice Bond. Of that union five children were born, of which Annie was the eldest. Due to her being the eldest she had to take responsibility being the mommy, babysitter, and cook. At the age of eleven she gave her life to Christ at a weeklong revival given by the Sandy Point Baptist Church, and was baptized in Hog Mills River (Hoggard Mill Creek), Windsor, North Carolina.

Due to the thralldom of sharecropping in North Carolina, Annie was only able to complete the sixth grade. At an early age, she married Jesse Bunch, of which from that union seven children were born. They divorced after 22 years of marriage. Annie was a sharecropper during the summer and did housework in the winter. One summer, after suffering a heat stroke, she knew she could no longer farm, so in the winter of 1961 she traveled to Ossining, New York, looking for domestic work for the following summer. She met Frances Craighead who would become her employer, but more importantly, a lifelong friend.

Ms. Craighead kept in touch with Annie, and in 1962 when Annie arrived back to Ossining to stay, Ms. Craighead helped Annie find her first job with the Goodman family. Ms. Goodman took a liking to Annie and purchased 170 Spring Street in Ossining for Annie to live, which was later purchased by Annie’s son, Jesse, in 1972. Over the years, Annie worked for the Goodman, Johnson, Craighead, Davis and Falk families. She also worked at Hudson Wire Company in Ossining.

In 1962, Annie joined The Star of Bethlehem Baptist Church under Rev. Junius W. Cofield. She had been a tithing member since Ruth Sherrod donated the tithing box. She was a member of the North Carolina Club, a founding member of the Praying Band and eventually served as president for many years. She began working in the Soup Kitchen with Mr. Beaman, and when Mr. Beaman could no longer work there, she took over working closely with Ms. Ensley and dedicated others. She also worked in the Culinary and Missionary ministries. In later years at Star, Annie was called ‘Mother Bunch’ by former Pastor Arthur L. Lewter; thus deeming her the first Church mother of Star. In January 2012, Mother Bunch was officially consecrated, along with 14 other women, as church mothers of the Star of Bethlehem Baptist Church.

Annie Bunch was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, March 29, 2015. She leaves behind those who will continue her legacy and cherish her memory; her four children, Jesse (& Arlean) Bunch of Ossining, Viola (& Thomas) Jefferson of Peekskill, Ethel Bazemore of Ossining and Malissia (& Bobby) Williams of Ossining; a daughter-in-law Jackie Bunch of Ossining; a sister, Harriett Heckstall of Nyack, NY; a brother and sister-in-law, Rhodes and Queenie Bond of Windsor, NC; an aunt, Sadie Bond of North Carolina; 15 grandchildren, 39 great grandchildren, 16 great-great grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and special friends. She was predeceased by three sons, John Whitt, Donald and Charles; two sisters, Mary Sue Bond and Geraldine Hinton; three brothers, Louis V. Jernigan, James and Frank Bond; and a granddaughter, Felicia Bunch.

Annie Bunch was a woman of grace, integrity, faithfulness and wisdom. Whenever you asked her about the highlights of her life, she said that once she left the South, she never looked back, and that she has been surely blessed!