1947 – 2025: Longtime Winter Garden educator Freddie Anderson dies

Freddie Deloris Anderson was known as Big Mama to all who knew her and loved her — and that was the entire community of east Winter Garden, where she was born and raised.

Anderson was the youngest of eight children, two boys and six girls, and she and her sisters all were destined to became longtime teachers, educating local children for decades.

Anderson died Feb. 19, 2025, at the age of 78.

She was born Jan. 9, 1947, to the late Carolyn Toney Anderson and Leroy Anderson. Her mother was a firm believer in education, and all eight of her children were college graduates. She often told them, “Once you get (an education) in your head, no one can take it away from you.”

Anderson took that to heart, graduating from Charles R. Drew High School in 1965 and continuing her education with a bachelor’s degree and later a master’s degree in education. Professionally, she served her community as an educator and taught for 31 years with Orange County Public Schools.

Her career allowed her to impact thousands of students at West Orange High School. Her devotion to the craft was driven by her enthusiasm for positively impacting students and working alongside other passionate educators.

In addition to WOHS, Anderson also taught at Maxey Elementary and Carver Middle schools.

She not only was a teacher to many — but she was a mentor to the younger generations. Everyone affectionately called her Big Mama.

“She was the community’s Big Mama,” said Chloe Johnson Brunson, a Winter Garden city commissioner who grew up in east Winter Garden and was influenced by Anderson. “She cooked, she put her heart in meals, she fed the hungry. She was everyone’s Big Mama, she was everyone’s person. … She was a big part of my village growing up.”

Following Anderson’s death, friends and family wrote personal messages on social media.

“This amazing lady wore many hats of life — a mother, grandmother, auntie, caregiver, friend, dedicated church member, educator, baker, cook, ministry of inspiration via calls and texts sent out daily, so much more and most of all having a relationship with … loving God almighty,” Marvelous Bing Rodgers said.

Tracey J. Brunson remembered her aunt: “My mother was one of eight, and my Aunt Freddie was the last one surviving. Since my siblings, my cousins and I have all lost our moms, my Aunt Freddie stood in the gap as mama, grandma, great-grandma to us, our children and grandchildren.”

Chloe Johnson Brunson called her “a true woman of God, a true woman of community, a true woman of leadership, a true woman of togetherness. … She was definitely a part of my family village.”

Another resident said, “It’s hard to imagine east Winter Garden without a single Ms. Anderson. … Now God has called them all home.”

She took care of her nephew, Cory Kendrick, after his mother died, just as she did her other family members.

During her memorial service, held Saturday, March 8, at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Winter Garden, Kendrick was one of the speakers.

“As we all lost our mothers, she would take all her nieces, nephews; we always stayed with her, she made sure we ate,” he said. “When she cooked, she would call us. When we were sick, we called her and she was the first one there. … We talked every day.”

When she detected he was getting a cold, she made him “one of those old-time remedies.”

“There’s just this void,” Kendrick said. “It’s extremely hard to feel. She was the last one. We all depended on her.”

Anderson’s service was as full of life as she was, with her bright yellow casket covered with a large bouquet of yellow flowers. Many of her friends and family in attendance were dressed in yellow and royal blue for her. The church was filled with love and praise for Anderson’s life, with uplifting music and interpretive dance.

Dr. Robert L. Bing III also spoke at the service.

“My cousin was the very essence of love,” he said. “She was genuinely a caring person filled with empathy and compassion for others, for family and so many others.

“I am a better person because of the conversation and interactions with Freddie,” he said. “Freddie was full of life and adventure. We all know she was a great cook, funny and a good listener. … She was a firm believer in the Lord and the power of prayer. … Freddie understood her role as the matriarch of the Anderson family. When I would reach out about troubling situations I was encountering, she offered, in my opinion, nonjudgmental words of wisdom.”

Dexter Johnson, another Winter Garden resident influenced by Anderson, called her a blessing to Winter Garden.

“God had gifted her with an education, and she brought that education back to Winter Garden,” he said. “Ms. Freddie took care of us from childhood to adulthood.”

She tutored children in their homes, and she helped teenagers and young adults find jobs.

Her granddaughter, Carolyn Morris, recalled her as a sweet, loving, caring person who always made people feel welcomed and loved.

“She always helped anyone that she could, and she loved to cook and feed people,” Morris said. “Her favorite thing to make for a crowd was turkey wings or porkchops, ham, turkey, collard greens, mustard greens, lima beans, potato salad — all the good stuff.”

She was a mentor to Morris too.

“She took whoever under her wing,” she said. “If my friends or my sister’s friends or someone in the community came to her for advice, she said, ‘Call anytime,’ and she would be there for them.”

Anderson learned about grief first-hand when four of her sisters died in a five-year span, and she took that experience and became a trained grief counselor. She reached out to many people with her text ministry, sending inspirational Biblical scriptures every morning.

Anderson was an active and faithful member of St. Paul AME Church, Winter Garden, serving willingly in several capacities over the years. Aside from her church involvement, she served as a manager with both Orange County Classrooms Teachers Association and the National Education Association, she worked with the Orange County Head Start program, and she was a member of the city of Winter Garden Planning and Zoning Board.

Anderson participated in many organizations, including Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc., Order of Eastern Stars, Daughters of Sphinx and Heroines of Jericho Lodge #98B.

She was preceded in death by her parents and her seven siblings: Johnnie Mae, William “Billy,” Reid, Sarah, Shirley, Betty Jo and Ruby.

Anderson is survived by her daughter, Letitia Morris-Brown; two granddaughters, Carolyn Morris and Mikaya Brown; four great-grandchildren, Kylan Williams, Kyran Williams, Kyler Williams and Kylee Williams; and a host of nieces, nephews and other relatives.

Anderson was interred at Oakland Community Cemetery, Oakland.