An Atlantic City icon passed away this weekend.
Audrey Hart died Sunday.
Born in England, Miss Audrey became a staple of the Atlantic City community in the early 1960s, when she opened her tailor shop.
The no-nonsense seamstress immersed herself in the history of Atlantic City, with a collection of memorabilia that filled Miss Audrey's Human Connection on Atlantic Avenue near the corner of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
But it was the people of her adopted city that were the most precious to her.
"She helped so many different people, and helped them from all different walks of life," said Marte King, who last spoke to Miss Audrey just before her death on his birthday. "And she did it unselfishly."
King recalled the first time he met Miss Audrey in 2010. He had recently returned home after serving time in prison, and was attending the masjid above the barbershop Omar and Abdullah's.
"This white lady who I did not know from nothing ran up and grabbed me by the cheeks," he said. "She looked at me with astonishment, “My God, you’re alive!”
From then on, she became his mentor and helped him succeed. She even co-signed on his first car.
"She literally changed the direction of my life," King said. "And she didn’t want anything in return. Just to do the right thing, other than make sure that car payment was made."
He said he would have lived in the rather than miss a payment and disappoint Miss Audrey.
"One of the proudest days of my life was when I finished that car payment," he said.
While her actions showed the care she had for him, King said Miss Audrey saved one thing for the last time they spoke.
"She told me that she loved me," he said, repeating the phrase several times as the emotion took over.
"You never got that soft part of Miss Audrey, ever," he said. "She told me she loved me."
