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THURSDAY, April 15, 2021
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C
Volume 47, Number 26
Heartfelt tributes pour in after the ^
passing of Mrs. Paulette Lewis-Moore
Her 27 years at The Chronicle influenced the lives of staff, readers, and others
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
A Legend. A Jewel. A
Sweet Beautiful Soul. An
Angel On Earth. Those
were just a few of the
words used to describe
Paulette Lewis-Moore.
Moore, a longtime mem
ber of The Chronicle staff,
passed away last week.
A native of Winston-
Salem, Moore, who is bet
ter known as Mrs. Paulette,
joined The Chronicle in
1993 as part of the mail
ing department. It wasn’t
long after the founder of
The Chronicle, Ernie Pitt,
learned that she could type
that he decided to make
her secretary and adminis
trative assistant.
During her 27 years
with The Chronicle, Mrs.
Paulette’s title was admin
istrative assistant, but she
was so much more; essen
tially, she was the face and
the voice of The Chronicle
and the glue that held ev
erything together. She
spearheaded The Chroni
cle’s annual Martin Luther
King Jr. Prayer Breakfast,
the Season’s Greetings ads
during Christmas, and was
instrumental in the facilita
tion of the annual Gospel
Fest and Community Ser
vice Awards.
With her warm, kind,
and loving personality,
Mrs. Paulette left a lasting
impression on everyone
she met. She really had a
knack for connecting with
people and making them
feel like family.
James Taylor, pub
lisher of The Chronicle,
said Mrs. Paulette shared
strength and wisdom with
everyone she met.
“A person like Paulette
Moore only comes along
once in a lifetime. She will
forever be remembered
for the love, strength and
wisdom that she shared
with all who came in
contact with her,” Taylor
said. “Mrs. Paulette made
countless contributions to
Mrs. Paulette Lewis-Moore
Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.
the culture of Black jour
nalism for over 27 years
in Winston-Salem, and she
was an example of what
we can all become when
we chose to walk in our
purpose.”
Tim Ramsey, The
Chronicle’s sports and re
ligion reporter, said when
he joined The Chronicle,
Mrs. Paulette was his sav
ing grace.
“Mrs. Paulette was
one of the nicest and most
genuine people I have ever
met. She was my saving
grace when I first started at
The Chronicle. I will never
forget the kind words and
genuine love she had, not
only for me, but for every
one she met. I will miss her
dearly,” Ramsey said.
Shayna Smith, market
ing and communications
manager, said to know
Mrs. Paulette was to love
her and every moment was
special.
“I worked very closely
with her, she was like my
work mother, she always
made sure that I was okay.
When I was sad or stressed
she would tell me jokes to
cheer me up, and she also
provided so much wisdom
in which I am very grateful
for,” Smith said, “She defi
nitely brought so much joy
and laughter to the office.
Almost every morning, we
would start the day with
singing gospel or dancing
to gospel. She was a very
special woman. I don’t
think I will ever meet any
one else jlike her. I am re
ally going to miss her. We
truly lost a Winston-Salem
warrior.”
While discussing a
special moment she shared
with Mrs. Paulette, Bridget
Elam, editor of The Chron
icle, referred to her as “an
angel on earth.”
“Ms. Paulette was al^-
ways on time! It was her
day off and I was opening
up the office on her behalf.
Yet somehow, I had essen
tially locked myself in the
foyer of the office. I was
caught between locked
doors - my keys were on
my desk. The inner door
was locked; if I walked
out the main door, I would
have been completely
locked out. Luckily, I had
my phone. But before I
could call someone to
rescue me, Ms. Paulette
pulled up. I didn’t think I
was seeing properly; it was
her day off,” Elam contin
ued. “She came with key
in hand and that infectious
smile on her face and freed
the one trapped in the foy
er! She had to pick some
thing up that morning. But
I felt she was fulfilling her
position - angel on earth.”
Judie Holcomb-Pack,
associate editor, said Mrs.
Paulette had an upbeat
spirit and a wicked sense
of humor. She also talked
about Mrs. Paulette’s keen
fashion sense. “Miss Pau
lette was the office fash
ionista. With her stylish
ensembles and coordinat
ing shoes, I don’t think she
ever wore the same outfit
twice,” .said Holcomb-
Pack.
“Her upbeat spirit was
infectious and if you came
in the door in a bad mood,
it would quickly change
after just a few minutes
being with her. She had
a wicked sense of humor
that would pop out at the
most unexpected times.
She knew everyone who
walked in the door, and if
she didn’t know you when
you came in, you’d be a
friend when you walked
out. Whenever I am out in
the community and men
tion where I work, the first
thing someone will say to
me is, ‘Do you know Miss
Paulette?’ Indeed, I do.”
Former copy editor Mi
chelle Woodburn said Mrs.
Paulette was a force in her
life and many others. “Ms.
Paulette filled my hours at
The Chronicle with joy,
laughter, beauty, kindness
and wise counsel,” Wood
burn said.
“She was such a warm,
gracious, thoughtful,
bright light — full of faith
and everything that’s good.
Ms. Paulette was a positive
force in the lives of many.
She was loved by all who
knew her and will be great
ly missed.”
On his personal Face-
book page along with a
picture of himself and
Mrs. Paulette, former edi
tor Kevin Walker wrote,
“We worked together for
more than 15 years at The
Chronicle, but we weren’t
coworkers; we were fam
ily. Like for many, she was
my mother, especially after
my own mom went on to
Glory. Those years at the
paper weren’t always easy,
but I could always turn to
her for a listening ear, a
pep talk and a hug before
she’d send me off with an
T love you’.”
Mrs. Paulette’s abil
ity to connect with people
wasn’t exclusive to those
she worked with. When
word of her passing was
made public on social me
dia, dozens of subscribers
and others with a connec
tion to The Chronicle talk
ed about how Mrs. Paulette
made them feel when they
walked through the door or
called.
Longtime subscriber
RaVonda Dalton-Rann
said, “What a beauti
ful spirit she was ... That
same spirit is now wearing
wings and looking down at
us.”
Southside Discount Pharmacy offering COVID-19 vaccine
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
After months of work
ing through red tape,
Southside Discount Phar
macy is now a COVID-19
vaccination site.
Ahuma Freeman, who
is the founder and owner
of Southside Discount
Pharmacy, said the process
to become a vaccination
site took a lot of paper
work and training, but they
started receiving doses of
the Moderna vaccine last
month and they’ve already
administered over 1,200
doses.
Southside Discount
Pharmacy, located at 3085
Waughton St., has been
in operation since 2014.
While finishing up her de-
Pharmacy
gree at Campbell Univer
sity, Freeman completed
her clinical training at
Wake Forest Baptist Hos
pital, which brought her to
Winston-Salem and closer
to her future husband, who
was working for Dell at
the time. After graduating
from college and working
at several big-name phar
macies for nearly a decade,
Freeman said she realized
that she wanted more out
of her profession. She said
much of the focus at big-
name pharmacies is mak
ing money, but she wanted
See Pharmacy on A2