Mary Magdalene Sanders, daughter of Bertha Bryant and lovingly raised by her stepfather, Sam Lee Bryant, was born on April 29, 1927 in Berkeley County, South Carolina. She departed this life on Sunday, September 8, 2019 in North Charleston, SC.

Mary moved to Bowman, SC at an early age, where she attended Williams Memorial Elementary School, St. George, SC. She later relocated to Harlem, NY, with her stepbrother and his wife, and would later meet her future husband at 14 years old. She also attended the City College of NY.

She was united in Holy Matrimony to Robert Sanders in 1949. This union was blessed with three children. Her husband and a daughter, Patricia Carina Sanders preceded her in death.

Mary converted to Al-Islam in the 1940s and attended the mosque where Malcolm X was the minister. She purchased her first home in 1957, when her family moved to Newark, NJ. She was the overseer in the garment district shop on 36th Street and 8th Avenue and an assistant to a watchmaker. She was also a homemaker and worked at the Willowbrooke Developmental Center as well. She was also a member of The Jolly Samaritans.

She leaves to cherish her memories: one son, Ralph Kenneth Sanders; one daughter, Lori Kim Fatama Sanders-Sabir; children she lovingly shared in the care of, Al-Shaheed "Jimmy"  Washington and Barbara McKayhan; her siblings, Gladys Bryant, Herbert Bryant, Matthew Howell, William B. Howell, Luevator Grant, Geneva, Macena, Margaret, Vivian, and John Lee; a host of grandchildren; brothers and sisters-in-law; and a host of other relatives and friends.