Gladys L. Diggs

Gladys Louise Diggs was born in Opelika, Alabama on April 1, 1937.  Gladys was the oldest of four sisters - Mae Masters (Hyde Park, MA); Amanda Maddox, Carol Jackson, Debbie Williams (each from Philadelphia, PA) and a brother Michael Williams (Upper Darby, PA).  She was married for 56 years to James Austin Diggs.  Gladys departed this life early March 15, 2018 after a long battle with cancer.

Gladys and her sister Mae were very close and spent their early years in Salem, Alabama living with their grandparents Arthur and Kate Fuller.  After Kate’s death, when Gladys was age eleven, Gladys and Mae were split up living with different relatives in Alabama and nearby Georgia.  In 1956, Maybelle Abernathy (aunt) and her husband Ray Abernathy sent for Gladys and Mae to live with them in Boston.  While in Boston, Gladys and Mae worked as baby sitters and went to night school to complete their high school education.  Even though separated for a few years during their childhood, Gladys and Mae maintained a strong sisterly bond confiding in each other as well as protecting and nurturing one another as they leaned on each other’s strength through these early years of struggle.

 During her adult life Gladys had an especially close relationship with her father (Thomas Williams) and her stepmother Ida Williams.  It was in the City of Boston, after a two year courtship, that she met and married James Austin Diggs of Roxbury, Massachusetts on June 4, 1960 at St. Richard Church (Roxbury, Massachusetts).  To this union was born a son, James Ray Diggs and a daughter Necole Marie Diggs.  Gladys worked at the Office of the Jury Commissioner (Commonwealth of Massachusetts) for 27 years retiring in 2002.  In order to be closer to her granddaughter Jasmine Monique Diggs, Gladys, James, Necole and Evelyn Diggs (mother-in-law deceased) all moved to Laurel, Maryland in 2006.

Gladys had strong Christian faith.  She also placed an emphasis on bringing up her children.  Gladys considered her most significant achievements in life as “Being a mother!!!” and “Bringing up my kids!!”.  She used to say “I did everything for my kids (Ray trombone and Necole private school)”.  “Family members did not want me to do these things”.  “I DID WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT TOLD ME TO DO!!!!!!!”  Gladys loved big church hats, fashion, bright colors and trying new things.  She was a great cook and specialized in fried chicken and potato salad. 

During her years in Boston, Gladys was a successful Mary Kay Beauty Consultant and active in many community organizations.  On her home street of Wolcott in Dorchester she helped to start “Like My Neighbor” which eventually combined with another street organization to form the Erie-Ellington Street organization.  Both were resident run organizations in the late 1960s and early 1970s where neighbors watched out for each other, cleaned their streets, and had a famous “block party” each summer for the kids.  Gladys was also a street representative for Area 6 of Model Cities, which was a community based organization providing input into the redevelopment of their communities.  After the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr in 1968, Gladys participated in a group founded by a neighbor (Thelma Moss) that started the Aswalos House (Aswalos is an acronym for “All Sisters with a Lot of Soul).  The Aswalos House provided after school enrichment, workforce development, and GED prep for teens in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Gladys will be lovingly remembered by her husband James Austin Diggs of Laurel, Maryland; sister Mae Masters, husband Keith Masters of Hyde Park, Massachusetts; sister Amanda Maddox children Jermanda, Timothy, Christina, and Christian; sister Carol Jackson, husband Derrick; sister Debbie Williams; brother Pastor Michael Williams (Officiate), wife Carla, sons Anthony, David, and Steven; son James Ray Diggs, wife Eileen and granddaughter Jasmine Monique Diggs of Laurel, Maryland; daughter Necole Marie Diggs of Laurel, Maryland; Grandson William Hardy (BJ) Bilge of Arlington, Massachusetts; Granddaughter Taishan Gary, husband Marques Gary, great-grandsons Kaiden Xavier Gary and Keyonne Marquis Gary of Montgomery Village, Maryland.

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