Anita served the Genealogy Forum over a seven year period as Reunion Assistant, Diaspora Library Assistant, African Ancestry SIG member, AARA Assistant and as member of the Human Resources Development Team. Anita worked as an eager Beaver on many projects, behind the scenes, in the Genealogy Forum.

Three projects stand out:

• Designing and implementing the African Ancestored Surname database. Anita has been a volunteer staffer with AfriGeneas for the past eight years. She is almost singularly responsible for the Surname Database. What an outstanding contribution for all our genealogy. In addition she had the responsibility to put up wepages of prayer and condolence.

• Building the AARA with GFS Morgan, Dear Myrtle, GFS Angela and GFS Alva;

• Designing and implementing the first Juneteenth Celebration on AOL.

Anita lost her 14 year battle with Sarcadosis in the early hours of September 28th at the General Hospital in Boston, MA. Final services will be Saturday from the Lutheran Church in Gary, Indiana.

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Having returned from a fruitful annual AAHGS conference it is a surprise, to read email, that one of the powerful personalities behind many aspects of Afrigeneas, the mail list and the SURNAME Database, has left our immediate community and has made her final transition.

Though losing someone close to us is painful, I had the honor yesterday at the conference to demonstrate in a workshop some features of the Surname Database from the Afrigeneas site. Anita Willis devoted her last 8 years to making the database what it is. I am comforted that I was able to share with persons in that workshop the power of what her work has done. While she slipped away from us, her work was continuing, and we can all be comforted that her labor was not in vain.

Anita remains with us and what she has left with us was being demonstrated on the day of her transition to others who had not used it before. Her legacy was and is a strong one and on the very day that she left us, others were being exposed to the fruits of her labor, and will be able to continue their research with this wonderful tool and gift to Afrigeneas.

Thank you Anita-----your influence upon our lives gets stronger, and perhaps you, and Dee, who also recently left us, can enjoy a cup of tea together, and occasionally send us a few clues to those elusive ancestors, to the whom we seek, and in whose presence you now walk.

The Afrigeneas community feels you with us, and each time we utilize what you have brought forth on the Afrigeneas site, you can feel smiles back from our hearts to you.

HOST GFS Angela