Mae Sykes

Charli Mae Sykes, affectionately known as “Aunt Mae,” was born on a Wednesday morning, June 12, 1946, in Dothan, Alabama, to the late Robert Sykes and Stella Mae Kirkland. Her family moved to Newark, New Jersey, where Mae and her sisters would call home. Mae attended West Side High School in Newark. After high school, she worked to support herself at Western Electric, and fund her education at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey, where she developed a talent for dancing and became president of the Photography Club. In 1978, Mae joined the United States Navy, where she would serve proudly as an Intelligence Specialist First Class Officer. She loved her career in the Navy, excelling in her role and earning numerous commendations, medals, and awards. Among her many accomplishments, Mae served as the Leading Petty Officer of the Intelligence Department for SEAL Team Two and received the Navy Achievement Medal and the Joint Service Achievement Medal. Her passion for photography carried over into her military career, where she worked with Navy SEALs to identify locations on topographic maps and later transitioned into Navy Intelligence, managing top-secret information while working at the Pentagon.

Mae had a passion for traveling, and during her military service, she had the opportunity to visit places such as Hawaii, Rome, Paris, and England. Mae was always the life of the party, known for her jokes, love of sports, and enjoyment of a good cocktail. In 1984, Mae married the late Kenneth C. Foster in Mountain View, California. After his passing, she and her nephew, William O. Rich, whom she helped raise, moved to Norfolk, Virginia.

After retiring from the Navy in her forties, Mae took on the responsibility of raising her great nieces—Alaia, Ashley, and Alacia— from a young age, in the same loving way she had raised their father, her nephew William. She provided unwavering love, support, and guidance to them, just as she had done for all her nieces and nephews.

Mae then moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, to be near her older sister, the late Betty Joe McEachin, whom Mae regarded as her “Mother Sister” for the love, care, and guidance she provided. Mae often spoke about the challenges of growing up under a strict, single mother, but she and her sisters made the best of it, each growing into professional, loving, and upstanding Black women.

Mae was a devoted member of Faith Community Baptist Church, where she volunteered as an usher and was active in the Women’s Ministry.

Mae was preceded in death by her mother, Stella Sykes; father, Robert Sykes; sisters Betty Joe McEachin (Belton) and Barbara Anne Sykes; her nephew, William Otis Rich; and her good friends Florzell and Ronnie. She will forever be missed by sister her Mary Nell Rich, her nieces: Robin, Ramona, and Ashley; her nephews: Roland, Desmon, and Kente; and a host of great nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Online condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfhsedgefield.com