Sterling, Kansas (August 8, 1925 – September 29, 2018) age 93 yrs

Ardise Lucretia Rawlins moved to San Diego in 1948 and secured a job at General Dynamics. At a time when single motherhood was frowned upon and women were relegated to the business sidelines, Rawlins defied convention. She moved up the ranks from assembly line worker to supervisor of General Dynamic’s electronics department during her 30-year tenure. A devoted member of Sterling’s Grant Chapel A.M.E., she was a founding board member of Richard’s Place, Bethel’s residential program for HIV/AIDS sufferers. In her ‘80s, she traveled to Jamaica and South Africa to minister to Christians there. Rawlings served as president of the local missionary society. She also led the Southern California Missionary Society. Additionally, she held posts as Bethel’s Sunday School Superintendent, director of the Young People’s Department, and Director of Lay Activities. Rawlings was also President of Friends of the Malcolm X Library in 2001.