Yvonne Delores Reese Means  was born on March 1, 1936, in Newnan, Georgia Coweta County. She was the only child of Charlie Reese, Jr., and Evelyn Perdue Reese. Growing up in Georgia Yvonne was surrounded by loving grandparents Daisy and Olen Perdue and Charlie and Emma Reese. Brother Charlie Reese III, and many cousins. In her early years she attended Newnan Chapel United Methodist Church where her grandfather Charlie Reese was the Sunday School Superintendent. Yvonne was educated in...

Shirley Marie McGraw Matthews Brown was born in Camden , Alabama, April 20th, 1949. She was the only child born to Helen McGraw and James Matthews. Shirley lived in Alabama until she moved to Youngstown, Ohio to live with her father and stepmother (Faye). The family later moved to Northfield, Ohio where she graduated with honors from Nordonia High School. Shirley was a quiet child who loved to read and learn. She earned her Associates degree from the Cleveland Institute of the Arts ,...

Hazel Pauline Montfort was born on November 15, 1933 in Terre Haute, Indiana. She was the youngest of nine children, born to George and Flossie (Phillips) Norton, both of whom preceded her in death. She departed this life to be with the Lord on Sunday, January 29, 2023. Hazel accepted Christ at an early age and grew up as a member of Lost Creek Baptist Church She attended Otter High School and received her diploma in 1950. She later moved to Cleveland, Ohio where she worked for Ohio...

Georgia was born in Tullahoma, Tennessee April 26, 1918. Georgia was the middle child of five siblings, two brothers and two sisters by her mother Polly Ann Wilhoite.   Georgia Dixon graduated from Meharry Nursing School in Tennessee. She graduated with her Nursing degree in 1939.  She went on to graduate from Case Western Reserve with a B.S. in Nursing.  She was one of the first black supervisors of Nursing at St. Luke, Mt. Sinai, and Metro General...

HIS LEGACY ”A good name (earned by honorable behavior, godly wisdom, moral courage, and personal integrity) is more desirable than great riches. And favor is better than silver and gold.” Proverbs 22:1 (AMP) John L. Roland Jr. was born in Kodiak, Alaska on June 12, 1957. He was the first son, born in the marriage union of John L. Roland Sr. and Dorothy Bourn. During his childhood, John grew up in the Mt. Pleasant community of Cleveland Ohio, and attended Alexander Hamilton...

Elnora Jessie was born August 29, 1935 to Charlie and Lucy McGowan (deceased) in Laurel, Mississippi. She was the sixth born of eleven siblings: Charlie Henry, Ola Mae, John and Roy who have all preceded her in death. Elnora moved from Laurel, Mississippi at an early age an stayed with her sister Ola and her brother Roy and his wife Hazel until she met the love of her life Charles Jessie and they were married. One child Dephny Lane Lavender preceded her in death. Elnora held three jobs in...

Angelo Maurice Duncan was born on May 19, 1966 to Frank Robert Barclay (deceased) and Deborah Ann Duncan-Barclay (deceased), in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child, he regularly attended church and was baptized at Mt. Herman Baptist Church. He attended Cleveland Public Schools and graduated from East Technical High School in 1984. Angelo participated in youth programs and began working at 13 building and installing storm windows for the weatherization program at Friendly Inn Settlement House. He...

The family welcomes donations to The Karamu Performing Arts Theater as an expression of sympathy in lieu of flowers    "Mothers plant the seeds of love that bloom forever"  Author unknown   Molly L Wright, MSW, LISW, CCM   The life of Molly Laverne Wright began April 23,1944 in Bluefield, Virginia. She was the third of five children (Warren Jr, Carolyn M West [Robert], Marilyn R Robinson [Greg], Bernard L) born to the marriage of Warren Russell...