Mrs. Clara McNeill Black

“God never hurts us needlessly, and He never wastes our pain, for every loss He sends to us is followed by richer gain.  And when we count the blessings that God has fully sent, we will find no cause for murmuring and no time to lament, and when everything goes wrong, it is God working in us to make our spirit strong.  God saw the road was getting rough, the hills were hard to climb, He gently closed her weary eyes, and whispered, ‘Peace Be Thine.’”

On March 13, 2026 God saw fit to take our loved one from our midst.  Clara McNeill Black was born September 8, 1933 to the late Emma Knight McNeill and the late Dixon McNeill.  She attended Burlington School in the Duffie Community, Hoke County, North Carolina.  Later she attended Peterson High School in Red Springs, North Carolina. 

She raised her brother’s children after his death; two nieces: Brenda McNeill and Denise McNeill and two nephews: Donald McNeill and Curtis McNeill.  Denise and Donald preceded her in death.  She had ten siblings that preceded her in death, nine brothers:  Gaston McNeill, Henry McNeill, Raymond McNeill, Thelma McNeill, Lacey McNeill, Curtis McNeill, Clinton McNeill, Leander McNeill, Donell McNeill and one sister: Mary Lillie McNeill. 

She worked as a cook at Open Arms Rest Home, Raeford, North Carolina for years.

She was united in marriage to Ernest Black of Hoke County who also preceded her in death.  She attended Center Grove Missionary Baptist Church where she helped out wherever she could until her health failed.

She leaves to cherish her memory: Four sisters-in-law:  Edna B. Cooper (Willie), Margaret A. McBryde, Gloria Jean Gillespie (Julius), and Carolyn McBryde, all of Red Springs, North Carolina. Four brothers-in-law: David Black of Winston Salem, North Carolina, Nathaniel Black, Jr., of Charlotte, North Carolina, and James Charles Black of Shannon, North Carolina and Amos Patterson of Red Springs, North Carolina, son: Curtis McNeill (Shameka) of Raeford, North Carolina, and daughter: Brenda McNeill, of Washington, DC. Two grandsons: Arthur McNeill and Anthony McNeill both of Raeford, North Carolina, three stepchildren: Linda Millner of Raleigh, North Carolina, Timothy Black of Roanoke, Virginia, and Calvin Black of Red Springs, North Carolina.  a special friend, Myrtle Sinclair of Red Springs, North Carolina, Caretaker, Ms. Betty McNair, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

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