Ann Bonner Lawrence Sams

   On July 19, 2020 the soul of Ann Bonner Lawrence Sams departed this earth. Born September 24^th, 1919 in Scotland Neck, NC she was two months shy of her 101^st birthday. Her parents, Charles Thomas Lawrence and Eliza Tripp Shaw descended from colonial settlers in Virginia and North Carolina. A Lawrence ancestor lived on the west bank of the Chowan River before Chowan County was established. Washington, NC was built on land donated by her Bonner ancestors.

   Called Ann Bonner or “Bonnie”, she grew up poor during the Great Depression after her father lost his farm, but she was always able to pursue her passion for horses as the family boarded them for neighbors in the days when most roads were dirt and farm work was done by mules and horses. At age 21 she was working in the box office at the Dixie Theater when she was swept off her feet by the handsome new manager, Willie Sams from Winston Salem, whose family came from the mountains around Mars Hill, NC. Married in 1941 they moved to the mountains to manage a family theater. But World War II intervened and Willie was drafted and sent overseas for three years; Bonnie came home to live with her parents. After the war they settled in Statesville, NC and raised four children; John, Ann, Charles and Mary. Bonnie “encouraged” each one to graduate from college, a luxury her parents could not afford. Sadly, Willie died in 1973 and both her daughters died within a few years before reaching age 30. Bonnie acted as a second mother to Mary’s three children until they were grown. In 2000 at age 80 she moved to Arrowhead Beach in Chowan County, remaining active and still driving her beloved Jeep at age 95. She donated half the funds needed to build the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and was the founding donor of the North Carolina Community Fund for Chowan County, establishing an endowment that funds charity and non-profit work in perpetuity from the fund’s interest.

   Surviving are: John Lawrence Sams (Robin) of Edenton; Charles Bonner Sams (Doris) and grandson Wesley Lawrence Sams of Lake Norman; son-in-law Richard Kennington and grandson Matthew Sams Kennington (Melissa) of Houston, TX; grandson John Christopher Kennington (Haley) of Greensboro; and granddaughter Wendy Lawrence Turner (Johnathan) of San Antonio, TX-- and 7 great grandchildren.

   No services will be held. Bonnie’s wish was that you might instead spend an equivalent amount of time with someone you love doing something special, or doing something for someone who can never repay you.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.