Macon Magazine

W hile growing up in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood of Macon, Tina McElroy Ansa was the youngest of Walter and Nellie McElroy's five children. The nurturing and inspiration she received during childhood undoubtedly influenced her life, which ended suddenly on September 10. A er graduating from Mount de Sales Academy, she matriculated to Spelman College, Eventually, she became a prolific journalist, novelist, teacher, businesswoman, publisher, and filmmaker. She penned five novels, which mirrored her experiences living in Macon. Most of them centered around a town similar to Macon, which she called Mulberry. Her novel "Baby of the Family," is about a baby believed to be born with special mystical sensibilities. Her freshman year at Spelman, she became roommates with Wanda Lloyd, which began a decades long friendship "We met the summer of 1967," Lloyd said. Soon a er that face-to-face meeting, they became fast friends. Sometimes Tina's parents would drive up to Atlanta on weekends, pick them up, and bring them back to Macon for Sunday dinners. Lloyd said they would drive around Macon, where Tina's father owned what she described to Lloyd as a "juke joint" called "The Place." He also owned a liquor store. While McElroy Ansa was from a sizable family, Lloyd, who grew up in Savannah, was an only child. "Tina was my sister- friend. We o en talked about how different we were," Lloyd said. "She said we came together as a superpower. I was on one side, she was on the other." "Tina deeply loved and remembered Macon. We talked about it all the time," said Lloyd. McElroy began working as a copy editor for the then-Atlanta Constitution – the first Black woman hired and only the second woman to be hired – and in several editorial positions a er graduation in 1971, she also kept writing fiction. A er "Baby of the Family" was released in 1989, it became a best seller and award winner. McElroy met and married Jonee' Ansa, a Vietnam veteran who became a filmmaker. They were married for more than 40 years, living on St. Simons Island until Jonee died in 2020. Tina McElroy Ansa and Lloyd, also joined togehter for more than 40 years, o en traveled together promoting McElroy Ansa's books. They collaborated on a book of essays and had a podcast, "2 Old Chicks Who Know a Lot of Sh*t!" Lloyd would hold book signings for her lifelong friend in the cities where she worked during a four-decade career at seven daily newspapers, including USA Today. She also had a stint as executive editor of the Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser for almost nine years. McElroy Ansa's last appearance in public was August 29 at a presidential campaign rally for Kamala Harris. Lloyd said her friend Tina was very joyful at the event. She said she will make sure that people never forget her sister-friend. "We will preserve her legacy," Lloyd said. Another person greatly influenced by McElroy Ansa was her nephew, Kelvin D. McElroy, who grew up in Fort Hill and attended Northeast High. A er graduating from Fort Valley State, he entered the Air Force Reserves and rose through the ranks in a career that spans almost 30 years. Brigadier General McElroy is currently Commander of the Force Generation Center at Robins Air Force Base. He fondly remembers growing up in Macon's Fort Hill and learned a lot from his parents and family – especially his aunt Tina. He vividly recalled a time his father Charles philosophically said to him, "You can't build a chimney from the top, and you can't drive a car from the rear." As a young person, he was confused by such colloquialisms, as kids o en are. Years later, his aunt Tina led him to understand his father's words were really about being a leader. He has instilled those lessons into leading the service members that he is responsible for. "I grew up in Fort Hill with a good family, a good upbringing," he said. His aunt even showed up for the ceremony marking his promotion to Brigadier General in 2022. "She was a free spirit who was raised like a Southern lady. She had an aura and a beautiful soul." He plans to honor his late aunt with a family ceremony at a property he owns in Macon, which he lovingly calls "The Place," a nod to his uncle Walter's place. The gathering will be held on November 18, which would have been Tina McElroy Ansa's 78th birthday. R E M E M B E R I N G T I N A M C E L R O Y A N S A A voice for Georgia "Claim what is yours. You belong anywhere on this earth you want to. " TINA MCELROY ANSA BY ELDREDGE MCCREADY 64 maconmagazine.com | October/November 2024

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