Aretha Mae McPeters

Ms. Aretha Mae Flint, 80, of Youngstown, departed this life Friday, November 25, 2022, at her home surrounded by her loving family. 

Aretha was born June 23, 1942, in Youngstown. The daughter of Howard Dixon and Vertis M. Flint.  She attended The Rayen School in Youngstown and later went on to pursue a long and fulfilling career at Diamondhead Nursing Home in North Lima, Ohio. Additionally, she was a private home healthcare provider for many years, and she took great pride in that career and showed much compassion for the elderly.  In 1963 Aretha and Oliver McPeters were joined in holy matrimony.  From this union, they shared three children.  As time moved on, in 1989, Aretha entered a common law union of 34 years with Mr. William Wright.

Aretha enjoyed helping others and was a passionate supporter of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the UNICEF organization in West and Central Africa.   She gave her life to Christ and became a member of Greater Mt. Huron Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, MI on April 17, 2022. 

In her spare time, she enjoyed cooking soul food, playing cards, and spending time with her children and grandchildren.  She also liked playing the lottery and buying scratch-off tickets.  Many times, she would share a good number to play in the lotto based on a hunch, and many times that hunch would come true.  Aretha loved to shop and was delighted in catching the latest sales.  She would call some of her children and grandchildren up and say, “Pick something out in this catalog and I’ll buy it.”   She was an avid reader of the newspaper and watched her soap operas: “Young and the Restless” and “Bold and the Beautiful” faithfully.  When able, Aretha made sure she attended any gathering that her granddaughters celebrated.

            Aretha leaves to cherish and honor her loving memory her companion Mr. William Wright and her cherished dog Fuzzy.  Sharing her living legacy are her children, Darlene Flint, Anita Flint, Marlin McPeters, and Denise McPeters (Simmons).  She leaves behind her grandchildren, Johnnie Murphy Jr., Steve McPeters, Maurice Conyer, Demetric Cobb, Stephanie McPeters, Cherena Conyer, Tenisha McPeters, Larhonda McPeters, Keyshara Fuzell, Chamal Conyer-Jackson, Edward Dobran III, and Anthony McPeters Jr.  Continuing her memory even further will be her forty great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.  A host of nieces and nephews remain to cherish her memory with extended family.   Last but certainly not least her dear and beloved friends Jessie Jackson, Barbara “Sass” Levy, Hattie Banks, and Dorothy Miller will honor her, and their many years of friendship spent together.

            She was preceded in death by her parents; her previous husband, Oliver McPeters; her siblings, Shirley Robinson, and John Flint; two sons, Steve Flint and Anthony McPeters; and two grandsons, Anton Flint and Ronald Morgan Jr.; and her former dog companion, Precious.

A gathering of Family and Friends will be held on Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at the L. E. Black, Phillips & Holden Funeral Home.

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