The beloved daughter of Mrs. Jessie B. Brown Dawkins and the late James C. Dawkins, Anita was a Columbus, GA native attending Baker High School and graduated with the 1977 Class of Hardaway High School. She attended Florida A & M University and was a graduate of Phillips College of Business. She was a member of Liberty Hill Baptist Church where she served with the Mass and Ensemble Choirs, as a Youth Advisor and with the Culinary Committee. She previously served as financial secretary at Liberty Hill and was a member of the Mt. Calvary Association. Anita was employed for many years with Charbroil, and was currently a caregiver for her Mother. She was an Eastern Star.

Survivors other than her mother, include: her sister, Tamra Dawkins-Walker (Darryl); two brothers, James J. Dawkins and Marco Wilson; loving aunts and uncles, Hugh Dawkins (Ann), David Dawkins (Jo), Rev. Henry Dawkins Mary F. Cook, Margie Baxter, Margarette Martin, Naomi Dawkins and Louise Dawkins; a god sister, Rebecca Claiborne; three god daughters, Melani Jones, India and Ivy Herring; three nephews, one niece; and a host of cousins, other relatives and friends.