Daryl Spruill

On Sunday, October 11, 2026, at 9:25 a.m., our beloved mother, Daryl Fredrique Spruill, peacefully transitioned from this earthly life into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father in Wilmington, North Carolina. Though our hearts are heavy, we take comfort in knowing she now rests in eternal peace, free from pain and the burdens of this world. Daryl was born on July 29, 1949, in Brooklyn, New York, to Louise and Freddie Spruill, and grew up in the Red Hook projects.

 She learned early that she did not need anyone else’s definition to know exactly who she was. She became a mother young and chose, again and again, to rise, raising four children with a strength that became the foundation of our family.

 Daryl answered the call to nursing and spent her career caring for others in hospitals and clinics, finishing in research at Drexel University. Patients and colleagues knew her the way her family did: straightforward, kind, and never afraid to say what needed to be said. She was a leader in every room she entered. Mom was fun, full of energy, and vibrant. When she spoke, people listened, and when she called, her family came — across state lines, in a single day if needed. 

Birthdays were big: every July, the whole family gathered to celebrate her, for years at her home, until the party grew too big for the house. Even through a long and hard final year of illness, she met every challenge with courage and stayed, as she always had, fully herself. Her faith was at the center of it all: she was a dedicated member of Truth Baptist Church in Newfield, where she led the Nursing Ministry, served as co-chairperson of the Women’s Fellowship Ministry, and was a member of the Mothers’ Ministry and the Clerical Team.Mom was more than the woman who gave us life; she was the foundation on which our lives were built. Her voice, her wisdom, and the countless memories we shared will forever remain woven into the fabric of our family. 

No matter how old we become, we are never truly prepared to lose our mother. Her passing leaves a space no one else can fill, but her love has not died. It lives within each of her children, her grandchildren, and everyone whose life she touched. She was preceded in death by her parents, Louise and Freddie Spruill; her brother, Freddie Spruill; and her sister, Sharon Spruill. She leaves to cherish her memory her husband, Robert Graham; her brother, Jeffrey Spruill; her children, Ken Williams, Brian Williams, Leon Williams, and Sharrona Williams; her nephew and bonus son, Lamont Carter, who was like a son to her; her grandchildren, Brittany, Brianna, KeVon, Kenneth, Konnor, Brody, Braxton, Cameron, Chance, Quincy, and Taylor Williams, as well as Kris Fulmore, Dylan Anderson, Devyn Taylor, and Tierra Weaver; her eight great-grandchildren; and a host of family and friends who will carry her spirit forward. 

Lovingly Submitted, 

The Family