Annie and Sallie Ann Wheeler were two African-American sisters who lived in a small house where they raised three generations of children who graduated from North Edgecombe High School.  

Annie was a sharecropper who worked the tobacco fields. Sallie Ann, despite being struck with polio at an early age, was a domestic worker for decades, cleaning houses and helping raise other people’s children. They were always willing to give, whether it was food, shelter, emotional support, wisdom or prayers of comfort. They both valued education and devoted their lives to ensuring the children in their family had access to education and opportunities.  

Annie passed away in 1998, and Sallie Ann passed away in 2010. With the establishment of the Annie and Sallie Ann Wheeler Memorial Scholarship Endowment by two of their nephews, Jamaal D. Pittman and Linwood E. Hinton, their legacy will live on.

The endowment fund supports North Edgecombe High School in awarding the Annie and Sallie Ann Wheeler Memorial Scholarship to graduating seniors attending a two- or four-year college or university who demonstrate two qualities Annie and Sallie Ann had in abundance: a passion for learning and a commitment to helping others.

This scholarship not only honors the legacies of these two great women and the Wheeler family’s history at the school, but it will also provide students with a chance to further their education and reach their fullest potential. 

The Annie and Sallie Ann Wheeler Memorial Scholarship made its inaugural award in 2022 to QuaNasia Bryant. Bryant is studying nursing at NC A&T State University and hopes to become a labor and delivery nurse.