Deaths of Anne Springs Close & Brenda Stevenson Mark Big Losses For Charlotte Area

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Two women died this week who will leave lasting legacies in the Charlotte area. Anne Springs Close, for whom the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill is named, died Friday. The 95-year-old was hit by a falling tree limb at her home on Monday, went to the hospital for treatment, returned home, and died in her sleep Friday.

Anne Springs Close founded and created the greenway in the 1980s. It’s a 2,100 acre nature preserve in Fort Mill. She created it because she was concerned about ongoing development in the area. She says most developers build first and if there’s anything left over, they’d make a green space. She did it the other way around, and now, Baxter and Kingsley communities thrive in the area around the Greenway.

And Pastor Brenda Stevenson died Wednesday. She founded the New Outreach Christian Center in west Charlotte in 1985. Stevenson dedicated her life to helping underserved communities. She made headlines when she declared she would bring a gun to church, following the mass shooting at Mother Emanuel in Charleston. Brenda Stevenson was 66 years old.

Our question of the night: what do you want your legacy to be?

This episode’s panel features:
WCCB TV’s Morgan Fogarty
WCCB News Edge contributor Ashley Anderson
WCCB Charlotte’s James Scott