Hildred Lavetta Charmaine London, co-founder and owner of London and Sons Wing House, Inc. since 1963, succumbed after a lingering illness on December 31, 2006 at the Cathedral Gardens Care Center. Visitation is scheduled for Friday, January 5 from 4-7 p.m. at the Austin Layne Mortuary Renaissance Chapel, 7302 West Florissant Ave. The funeral is scheduled Saturday, January 6 at 10 a.m. at Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 2411 Belle Glade Ave. Interment is at St. Peters Cemetery.
London was born in Drew, Mississippi on July 27, 1942 to Oscar Blue Sr. and Ida Mae Blue. She was a member of a devoted loving family of 12 siblings and the family relocated to St. Louis 1955. London confessed her faith in Christ at an early age under the leadership of Rev. Daniel C. Davis at Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church and continued her religious services to church under the current Pastor, Bishop C. Allan Jones.
London was educated in the St. Louis Public Schools and married her devoted husband, Dale London, March 5, 1961. To this union were born three sons, Gerald, Patrick and Ronald.
London was a dedicated volunteer and an outreach financial contributor to many organizations including the Variety Club, NAACP Defense Fund, United Negro College Fund, Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club, and Annie Malone’s Children’s Home. She was a member of Top Ladies of Distinction, a charter member of the National Coalition of 100 Women, a member of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and a lifetime member of the NAACP.
She leaves to cherish her loving memory a devoted husband, Dale London; three loving sons, Gerald, Patrick (Lois) and Ronald; 10 siblings, Velma Harris, Tommie Blue (Carrie), Oscar Blue Jr. (Gertrude), Mary L. Harris, Roosevelt Blue, Beatrice Powell, Barbara Ellis (John), Bernice Meadows (Ed), Geraldine Blue and Betty Greenlee; eleven grandchildren, three great grandchildren, and one on the way, one God Daughter, Christi Cheri Greenlee, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.