On Monday, Dec. 4, 2023, I lost a very dear friend, M. Nadine Whittington, a native Washingtonian. She passed away peacefully of natural causes after a long illness at the age of 90.
Nadine and I became friends when she walked into my Frank D. Reeves Center office one day and introduced herself to me. She let me know that she had been one of former D.C. Council member Frank Smith’s community volunteers for years. She was excited that the new African American Civil War Memorial was coming to U Street. Immediately, she let me know that she would be stopping by to help out.
She was truly a woman of her word! She did exactly as she said she would. At the time, she lived in an apartment directly across from the Washington Hilton Hotel, located on 19th Street NW. She and I became very close, doing things together quite often, including our meetings at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Eventually, Nadine started visiting my church, though she made it clear: “I visit a few churches from time to time, but Vermont Avenue Baptist Church is my home church, and it always will be!”
We were always delighted when she would visit with the All Nations Baptist Church for special programs such as our Women’s Day or church anniversary — she was there! She would even take the time to eat with us in the fellowship hall. Our pastor, Rev. Dr. James Coleman, loved Nadine too, along with many from our congregation.
However, she did continue to work closely with me and the event planning committee for then-Council member Frank Smith’s African American Civil War Memorial Freedom Foundation, Inc., the nonprofit responsible for erecting the Spirit of Freedom Monument located at Vermont Avenue and U Street in northwest Washington.
In her official role, she served as the national volunteer coordinator, working closely with me, the project director. She placed local and national volunteers on committees. If you wanted to help, she gave you a position.
Nadine remained a regular volunteer until the monument was unveiled on July 18, 1998. She continued helping, even after the unveiling, until the year 2000.
Another of her pathways was her work in Ward 8 on her daughter’s Eydie Whittington successful campaign in the mid-1990s to get elected to the D.C. Council. Eydie had been endorsed by the honorable Marion Barry to become the next Ward 8 Council member after he was elected once again to be the mayor of the District of Columbia. Nadine now had two wards that she worked in — Ward 1, where she lived, and Ward 8, where she worked and where her daughter was now a city council member.
During the 1990s, M. Nadine Whittington also served as office manager for D.C. Council member Frank Smith’s reelection campaign.
She became a member of Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Inc., in 1996, she was installed as a member. This is a business and professional, charitable sorority, she was a member of the Delta Pi chapter, based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Gamma Phi Delta Sorority was founded in 1943 in Detroit and the headquarters is located across the street from Motown’s Hitsville USA Museum on West Grand Boulevard. The sorority gives scholarships, help youth, and fights against juvenile delinquency.
My entire family knew and loved Nadine. She visited my home, and she rode to North Carolina for my mother’s funeral during the Christmas holiday in 2000. We will all miss her tremendously.
Her funeral services will be held at Vermont Avenue Baptist Church (1630 Vermont Avenue NW) on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023. The viewing will be held at 10 a.m. and the funeral is at 11 a.m. If you knew and loved M. Nadine Whittington, you ought to come out and join us as we remember the legacy of her life in this city! There is too much to share in my column.
Lyndia Grant is a speaker/writer living in the D.C. area. Her radio show, “Think on These Things,” airs Fridays at 6 p.m. on 1340 AM (WYCB), a Radio One station. To reach Grant, visit her website, www.lyndiagrant.com, email lyndiagrantshowdc@gmail.com or call 240-602-6295. Follow her on Twitter @LyndiaGrant and on Facebook.