Annie Bridie Toone

On Wednesday morning, May 5, 2021, Annie B. Toone, donned her training wings and began her spiritual journey. After a long history with many illnesses, she lost her battle and passed away at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC. She is preceded in death by her Mother, Alma Lucille Land; her Sister, Dorothy (Dot) J. Mack; her nephew, Keith E. Johnson, and her Husband, MSgt. (ret.) Joseph W. Toone.

In the crux of the Great Depression, Annie McNair Bridie was borne on December 6, 1929, in Mecklenburg County, near the town of Chase City, VA. She was the oldest of two daughters borne to Alma Lucille Land. Her sister Dot was her “best friend” and they enjoyed doing everything together, especially going fishing (using a large straight pin) with their grandfather. Days before her transition she triumphantly announced, “I’ll be 92 in December”.

Educated in what became the Mecklenburg County Public School system, she attended Chase City Grade School where she became a champion speller, winning many awards, and in her words, “of course I felt special because I always got it right.” Annie went on to attend Thyne Institute, historically known for being the only institute in Mecklenburg County to offer higher education to African American students. In her mid-teens, migrating north during the second wave of the Great Migration, her Mother moved her and her sister to Yonkers, New York. There she attended Ben Franklin Junior High School (aka Yonkers HS).

On February 5, 1955, Annie married U.S. Army Soldier, Joseph (Joe) W. Toone, thus, becoming a proud military wife and immediately began travelling the globe with her two daughters (Cassandra and Lynne) and her ‘man in uniform’. Her first transatlantic crossing anchored her in Kaiserslautern, Germany and later in Hokkaido (Chitose), Japan. Hokkaido was by far her favorite duty station. Shortly after returning stateside from Japan, the family moved with her husband to his next command post at Vint Hill Farms Station (Warrenton, VA). There, the couple later welcomed the birth of a third daughter, Patricia Ann.

Annie settled in Manassas, Virginia making that her home for almost 50 years. She found employment in the hospitality industries of Marriott, McDonalds and Denny’s where she retired as a hostess. Making friends came easy as she always said, “I treat people the way I like to be treated.” She and her friends celebrated events together, traveled together and looked out for one another. Though most of her friends await that heavenly reunion, of those that remain, two special neighbors, Alice and Lisa, stayed in close touch until the end. Overcome by illness, in 2018, Annie moved to Washington, DC, to reside with her daughter Lynne.

Annie’s friends, as well as friends of her daughters, always commented on how genuinely nice, kind, and polite she was.

Annie spoke of her “three girls” as her greatest accomplishment and enjoyed travelling and spending family time with them. She enjoyed going to and participating in the activities offered through the DC Iona Saturday Respite and Adult Day-Care (formerly Downtown Cluster’s) programs, citing, “I enjoy being with my peers.” Annie had a green thumb and enjoyed tending to her many plants. She was an avid reader; enjoyed baking; watching Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy and Family Feud; doing crossword and word search puzzles; shopping with her daughter Lynne, and relaxing and listening to music of all genres. Among her favorite was jazz, but surprisingly, she also enjoyed the sounds of Tupac, Big Daddy Kane and Biggie. Her favorite holidays were Thanksgiving and Christmas where she would lavishly prepare the most delicious dinners. For Christmas she would bake and decorate oodles and oodles of cookies for her three girls to enjoy, but mainly for them to share with their friends and co-workers.

She leaves to cherish her memories three daughters: Cassandra (Soni) L. Toone and Lynne M. Saffell, both of Washington, DC, and Patricia (Tricia) A. Toone of Charlottesville, Virginia; her Sister-in-Law, Roberta Toone Allen (Yonkers/Ellicott City, MD); her nephew Frederick A. Johnson, Jr. (Yonkers); her niece-in-law, Deborah Peart (White Plains, NY); several grandnephews and a grandniece and their families; her first cousins, Mary Blanche Smith (Skipwith, VA) and Lillian Claire Brannan (Yonkers); her much adored second cousin, Constance R. Phillips (Yonkers); a host of loving cousins; an intimate circle of friends; two “especially devoted” home-health aides, Florence and Doreen; an honorary ‘daughter’ Melza Doores-Sykes (Ft. Washington, MD); and her life-long friend Doris Boston ((Russell) White Plains, NY).

Lovingly, always smiling. Job well done Mother.

We’ll be missing you.