Mrs. Lillye McNeill Dumas of Tampa, FL, passed away on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Funeral Services will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at Sandy Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 73 Deangelo Road, Maxton, NC 28364, with Reverend Ellerbee, Officiating. Interment will follow in Wayman Chapel AME Zion Church Cemetery, Hamlet, NC 28345.
Mrs. Dumas spent the last nine years in Tampa, FL. However, she was a native of Maxton, NC, attended Roberson County Schools and was a member of Sandy Grove Missionary Baptist Church. Mrs. Dumas was a graduate of North Carolina A&T University, with a degree in English and History. She received her Master's Degree in Administration and Supervision from the University of Bridgeport, CT, with advanced studies at Yale University, Rutgers University and a certified librarian from Columbia University in New York City, with studies from Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA. She was a 70-plus-year member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Her last chapter affiliation was Rho Alpha Omega Chapter in Rockingham, NC.
Mrs. Dumas retired after 43 years of teaching English and reading in North Carolina, Connecticut, New Hanover,Richmond and Roberson County School Systems before moving to Tampa. Mrs. Dumas was known in her hometown of Maxton for her outstanding role in city government. Her last notable achievement was getting CSX to place crossing arms at the railroad crossing in her neighborhood.
Mrs. Dumas was the last of her ten siblings. Her death ends her generation of the McNeill/Fairley Family of Maxton, NC. Lillye was preceded in death by her father Wille B. McNeill Sr., mother Maggie Fairley McNeill, brothers James Cleveland (Christine) McNeill, Wille B. (Gladys) McNeill Jr., John Walter (Bertha) McNeill, sisters; Mary Letha (James) Bridges, Sarah Jane (John) McEachin, Palmer Lee (Charles) Jemison, Estella (Elijah) Taylor, Annie Bell (Erwin) Carelock, and Maggie Juanita (Willie) Howard, and Son-in-Love Artice Ray Holland. Mrs. Dumas was 92 years old and was born on May 27, 1933.
She leaves to cherish her memory: her daughter, Beverly Dumas Holland of Tampa, FL; two grandchildren, Artice L. Holland of Tampa and Ranita D. Holland of Wimauma, FL; great-grandchildren, Aziyah M. Austin, Aziel S. Austin, Amahn R. Austin and Alijah O. Austin; goddaughter, Lillye D. McLean; A godson Frankie L. Carelock and a host of nieces and nephews.
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FUNERAL SERVICE
18
Apr
73 Deangelo Rd.
Maxton, NC 28364
