I awoke this morning to the sad news that Mrs. Henrietta Hines McIntosh had gone to glory to join the ancestors.

After my father’s family moved to Queen Street, Eva Hines moved her family into 303 Elba Street. As a child, Mrs. McIntosh walked with her mother from Elba to Vick Cemetery on Sunday afternoons to visit her father Charles Hines‘ grave. I first heard of her deep personal connection to Vick in May 2023, when she attended Vick Cemetery: Past, Present, Future as a guest of Mayor Carlton Stevens. In August of that year, I asked and Mrs. McIntosh graciously agreed to speak with a WRAL reporter about the ongoing injustice her family had experienced due to decades of neglect and damage at Vick. A day later, she sat front and center at the Reconsecration ceremony Lane Street Project held at the cemetery.

For more than two years after Reconsecration, the City effectively sidelined Vick Cemetery, and Mrs. McIntosh was forced to continue to wait for respect to be restored to this sacred space. In early 2026, the wheels began to turn again with the creation of a descendant advisory council, and not two weeks ago we celebrated the progress made in reclaiming Vick Cemetery. Mrs. McIntosh understandably did not venture out into chilly rain to join us, but her son Charles A. McIntosh delivered remarks on her behalf.

Mrs. McIntosh embodied ninety-nine years of wisdom, resilience, and hope. I am endlessly grateful that her long journey allowed her to witness the dawn of the positive changes she championed.

Rest in perfect peace, Henrietta Hines McIntosh. My deepest condolences to the Hines-McIntosh family and to all who loved her. Please know how deeply we share your loss.