With our hearts full of love and gratitude, we celebrate the life of our beloved mother, grandmother, and great grandmother Gladys McCollum, who went home to be with the Lord on October 28, 2025.

Born on June 26, 1934, in Bennettsville, South Carolina, Gladys was the daughter of the late John and Novella McCollum and was one out of 13 siblings. She was a loving mother to three children. She retired many years ago, as an assistant cook from Associated Day Care services. She was a lifelong tenant of SMS apartments and member of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Boston, MA.

Gladys was the heart of our family — a woman of deep faith, endless love, and quiet strength. Her home was always open and her kitchen was always full. Her famous sweet potato pie will be missed. She had a way of making everyone feel special. Her wisdom shaped us, her laughter lifted us, and her love held us together.

She leaves to cherish her memory her three daughters; Dorothy Jean, Barbara Ann, and Yvette, and leaves behind two sisters Rosa Mae Littes (Bennettsville, SC), Novella Elizabeth (Boston, MA), and one brother Benjamin (Boston, MA), as well as seven grandchildren; Alan Tawan, Ernest Jamall, Clifford Cantius, Jamal Hakiym, John Wesley, Latoya Lizzette, and Shanara Aleesha, ten great granddaughters, five great-grandsons, and three great-great grandsons, as well as a host of nieces and nephews.