Maxine McNair, mother of girl killed in Birmingham church bombing, dies at 93
Maxine McNair with her daughter, Denise, who was killed at age 11 in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham's 16th Street Baptist Church. (contributed)
Maxine McNair, the last living parent among the four girls killed in the 1963 bombing of Birmingham’s 16th Street Baptist Church, died Jan. 2. She was 93.
Lisa McNair said her mother was a beacon of light for the Birmingham community, “for her strength of character to go on after such a tragic loss of Denise and raise two other girls, but also help raise other people’s (children) as a teacher during 33 years in the Birmingham public school system.”
Denise McNair was 11 at the time of the bombing that also took the lives of 14-year-olds Addie Mae Collins, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Cynthia Dionne Wesley. The case went unsolved for years. Three members of the Ku Klux Klan were eventually convicted, the first in 1977 and two more in 2001.
“Her favorite scripture was (Proverbs 3: 5-6) ‘Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, lean not to your own understanding, but in all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.’ She would quote that all the time,” Lisa said. “Her faith was just unflinching.
“I remember after she taught (school) she would go to the homes of students, some of students who were struggling, spend time with them and their families and take them clothes, stay late and help them read. … I run into people all the time and they say, ‘Your mom taught me and I wouldn’t be the person I am today had it not been for your mother.’ She was a loss to a lot of people.”
McNair’s husband, Chris, a former state legislator and Jefferson County commissioner, died in May 2019, also at age 93. She is survived by daughters Lisa and Kimberly Brock.
“Our hearts go out today to the family and friends of Mrs. Maxine McNair,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said on Facebook. “Mrs. McNair was a matriarch of social justice in our city, an incredible wife and mother who imparted love and wisdom on hundreds of young minds while serving 33 years in the Birmingham public school system.
“We wrap our arms around the McNair family today during their time of loss,” Woodfin said. “The McNair family has given so much to our city and we are forever grateful for their service and sacrifice.”
This story originally was published by The Birmingham Times.
