Olivia L. Saunders' Obituary
Hers was a life of so many eras.
She was born in post-Depression America in 1932, and the trajectory of her life resembled the upward progression of other African Americans throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Olivia was, at once, wholly of her generation, and full of reverence for civic traditions, service, and her cultural heritage. She was also a modern woman, who was completely of her times, whether those were the industrious 1950s, the ascendant 1970s, the prosperous 1990s, or the transformative 2020s. By the time of her passing at the age of ninety, Olivia Langford Saunders sat atop of a family of four generations alongside her love of over seventy years, Charles Saunders. After a retirement of nearly thirty-five years, she was one of two remaining members of her generation from either her or her husband’s families.
Olivia’s early life was rooted in New Jersey, where she attended high school in Madison and grew up enmeshed within a community that sustained her. She spent summers with her Langford relatives in North Carolina. In midlife, Olivia raised her own family, while pursuing an independent career outside the household as a teacher. Decades later, she retired with her husband to Florida, and maintained the same pace of entertaining, exercise, and enjoyment that she established earlier in life.
She bestowed her love unconditionally onto her four grandchildren, wanting to have a hand too in raising them with the variety of values, experiences, and opportunities that had marked her own life. Notably, also, Olivia started, maintained, or deepened relationships with half-siblings, cousins, nieces and nephews, as well as hosts of in-law relatives, former students, neighbors, teammates, and caretakers across her many decades of adult life.
Olivia met her first love, Charlie, a friend of one of her brothers, at a party when she was 17. They courted for three years during his service to our country in Japan, sending each other photos and correspondence while separated by wartime distance. They had, as Etta James sang, “A Sunday type of love,” as the lyric clarifies, “the type that lasts past Saturday night.”
They would elope to the surprise and slight consternation of their loved ones. Soon after, Olivia would give birth to her son Charles Bradshaw Saunders and, then, four years later, a daughter Betty Ellen Saunders. Olivia lovingly called her little girl Betsy and her son Brad. Each of her children would grow to develop deep friendships over the many decades they shared with their mother.
Her interest in literature and political histories ran deep. She would keep boxes of books that she happily shared and discussed whenever the occasion arose. Indeed, her love of learning and teaching was passed on as she taught children in elementary school from kindergarten through 5th grade. Having grown up in Madison, New Jersey, she was accustomed to living in an area lacking racial diversity, so she grew up accepting everyone for his or her own character. Still, Olivia was popular, as she was a cheerleader in high school and had many friendships, and would later reveal that she felt that she belonged to every room she ever entered.
All across her life, during which media evolved from the black and white television to high definition streaming programming, she basked in the possibility of exposure to the broader world. She displayed a deep reverence for storytelling of all types, whether in film, television programs, or books. Each allowed her to navigate across all sorts of national contexts and times without having to ever so much as leave her home. Across the pandemic, and while advanced in years, she took to learning basic French in order to engage the stories of her grandson from his travels abroad. In fact, she lived vicariously through all of the successes and experience of her loved ones. She was always keen to listen to anyone eager to share a memory, and was always interested in giving her unvarnished opinion.
Olivia and her husband Charles led fascinating lives as seniors, joining the Cape Coral Yacht Club and the Coast Guard Auxiliary while giving back to the community of Dunbar, Ft. Myers through high level participation at the non-profit Quality Life Center. They just as easily passed good times while enjoying their boats, all named Sara E, which they docked behind their house. Olivia was an avid tennis player who passed that love onto her son, Brad, to three of her grandchildren, and to at least one great granddaughter. Indeed, Olivia tackled everything with zest and celebration. She and her husband renewed their vows for their 50th wedding anniversary on an Alaskan and Canadian cruise, tying them closer in their commitment across the next two decades.
Across life, her travels also included trips with her husband to Bermuda, and dozens with her family across the United States, including to Puerto Rico with her daughter and annual trips to Miami with her son to tennis tournaments. She loved parties, hosting and attending family gatherings, huge cookouts, and holiday events. She loved supporting her family. In one particularly demonstrative instance, she helped her niece launch a book by hosting a party in her home in Cape Coral. Olivia remained a cheerleader for all those she loved. She especially loved her time with her four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, including her namesake Royal Grace Olivia Hampton, who preceded her in death.
Now, in blessed memory, it is clear that, perhaps, the one word that best described Olivia Langford Saunders and her life is class. Olivia emanated an aura when she walked into a room, which conveyed a level of regard typically tied to royalty. That’s why she received the nickname “Queenie” and moniker of “Queen” by the end of her life from her family and friends. But when asked directly about rank, privilege, and ceremony, Olivia made clear that she preferred her own more grounded origins, which set the foundation for the entirety of her comfortable and expansive life. Perhaps that’s what attracted her to the grounded Charles Saunders, the love of her life, at the early age of 17. We can still hear her calling his name “Charlie.” At his 90th birthday celebration, as everyone mentioned how much they cared for him, how kindly and supportive he was to them, she smiled and said proudly, “That’s my Charlie. That’s my husband.”
Olivia Saunders left us on October 7, 2022, though because she lived a life of ease and steadiness, with a zest for life, family, and joy, we should be steadied and comforted by that and the fact that she loved all completely and without reservation.
Olivia arrived in this world to her parents, Betty Harrell Langford and Roy Langford, (pre-deceased), and joined a family with two brothers, Roy, Jr. and James Langford, (also pre-deceased). She leaves to cherish her husband, Charles, her son, Brad, her daughter-in law, Audrey, and her daughter Betty. She was blessed with four grandchildren, Brandice Hampton, Toi Walker, Darius Callier, and Alicia Goods, as well as grandsons-in-law, Kevin Hampton, Rashad Walker, and Lawrence Goods. These grandchildren gifted her great-grandchildren, Jacksyn Walker, Aubrey Goods, Josiah Goods, Jacob Goods, Jordyn Walker, Royal Grace Olivia Hampton, (pre-deceased), Nova Hampton, and Ayla Goods. She also leaves to cherish three half-siblings, Barbara, Roy III, and William. She leaves also a host of nieces, nephews, friends, and caretakers, whom will miss her deeply.
Untitled Poem, Author Unknown
When God saw You Getting Tired
And a cure was not to be
He put His arms around you
And whispered come to me
He didn’t like what you went through
And He gave you rest
His Garden must be beautiful
He only takes the best
And when we saw you sleeping
So peaceful and free from pain
We wouldn’t wish you back
To suffer that again
Today we say goodbye and as you take your final rest
That Garden must be beautiful
Because you are one of the best.
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