During Tuesday’s Board of Aldermen meeting, the Board read a resolution in honor of Annie Lee Burt, one of Lafayette County’s oldest residents, commemorating her 100th birthday on Sunday. 

Burt’s family members were in attendance, having traveled from Memphis, Detroit and Michigan. Born Annie Lee Jones, she is the last surviving member of eight brothers and sisters. Burt lives with Alzheimer’s and taken care of by her daughter Effie. 

Throughout her life, Burt served Lafayette County in several capacities. She helped form the Federal Head Start program and was a paralegal for North Mississippi Rural Legal Services for a quarter of her life. 

“It’s my honor to take care of my mother along with my sister,” Effie, said to the Board. “I thank you for this resolution because sometimes when our loved ones are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s we think it’s the end. We think there’s nothing left, but there is a lot left with her.” 

In 2000, Burt was named the Woman of the Year by the NAACP, and in 1999 was named the Mother of the Year. Other accolades Burt has received throughout her life include the Best Dressed Professional Woman of Oxford and recipient of the Harriet Tubman Award from the Magnolia Bar Association and Foundation. The Magnolia Bar, a state association for African-American lawyers, uses the award to recognize individuals or organizations that have distinguished themselves with the African-American community as trailblazers and stalwarts in business, civil rights, religion and/or politics. 

Burt also spent time as a volunteer with the AARP, Meals on Wheels and served as a board member for LIFT, Inc. 

While thanking the Board for honoring her mother, Effie also took the time to thank Memory Makers, an Oxford program that provides a respite day for caregivers and those suffering from dementia. She also took the opportunity to ask the city and others to offer more support to the program. 

“I also know there is a big, growing need for this program in Oxford,” Burt said. “When I first took my mom to Memory Makers three years ago, there were empty chairs at the table. But now, the table is full with Alzheimer’s patients. Sometimes my mom can’t make it every day, but Memory Makers make a space at the table for my mom when she can go.”