Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, widely considered the dean of the nation’s black preachers and “the poet laureate of American Protestantism,” died Sunday, April 5, 2015, after a ministerial career that spanned more than six decades. He was 96. “Dr. Taylor …

Richmond’s Thomas Jefferson High School and Virginia Commonwealth University basketball fans remember Lamont C. “Monty” Knight as the silky smooth guard who lit up the scoreboard with his high-hanging jump shot. He also could light up a room with his …

Eugene Patton, the stagehand who earned fame as “Gene Gene The Dancing Machine” on NBC’s quirky television talent program “The Gong Show,” has died, his family announced. He died Monday, March 9, 2015, in Pasadena, Calif., after suffering from diabetes, …

Rovenia Vaughan was a trailblazing member of the Virginia State Conference of the NAACP. In 1999, she was the first woman to be elected president of the state’s largest civil rights organization. The state branch was started in the 1930s. …

Horace Fisher III was raised with an abiding love of music. “He told me his mother, Gertrude Anderson Fisher, would play music as she cleaned the house on Saturdays and they would sing to the music,” said his wife, Brenda …

Earl Lloyd, a Virginia native who was among the early stars of the annual CIAA tournament and the first African-American to play in the NBA, has died. Mr. Lloyd, 86, was living in Crossville, Tenn., with his wife, Charlita, at …

Eva Burrell Brinkley was an educator and public servant. Whether she was teaching kindergartners during her 39 years with Richmond Public Schools, being involved in a bevy of community organizations or volunteering as an aide at the Virginia General Assembly …

Elizabeth “Beth” Walker Mickens Randolph loved spending time with her trailblazing grandmother, Maggie L. Walker, the first black female founder and president of a bank in America. Mrs. Walker chartered the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Jackson Ward in …

Those who knew her best describe McEva Roach Bowser as kind and gentle. “But she was also demanding,” said her younger sister, Martha R. Lancaster. “She always demanded that we do the right thing, whatever we were doing.” Mrs. Bowser …

Reuben V. Burrell captured the history and essence of Hampton University during more than 65 years of service as the university’s staff photographer. He was affectionately known as “One-Shot Burrell” for skills developed during the 1940s wartime when film, flashbulbs …

Donald G. Hatcher would step to the podium to address the mayor, members of Richmond City Council, the School Board or officials at other city meetings and one could sense the representatives’ trepidation. They knew, more often than not, that …

Bernard L. Jones Sr. loved Richmond and did all he could to enhance it. “He really liked seeing the community become better in every way,” his daughter, Dr. Badiyyah Waajid, said. That’s the reason he joined the Astoria Beneficial Club …

Charlie Sifford, who broke the color barrier in golf as the first African-American PGA Tour member, died Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, at age 92, the PGA of America announced. Considered the Jackie Robinson of professional golf, Mr. Sifford endured death …

Essie LaDean Miller, a former commissioner of the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, sought to make life better for residents of Fairfield Court and other public housing communities Ms. Miller was an outspoken voice for residents until her death Thursday, …

Evelyn Swann Fraser was known for her kind, loving, generous spirit and her devotion to her family and friends. When her sister, Lillian, fell ill at an early age, she cared for her until her death at age 38.