Civic activist Donald Jerome Garrett, who exposed payday loan practices, dies at age 69
Donald Jerome Garrett kept active in civic affairs despite suffering from kidney disease that required him to receive dialysis three days a week.
Musician Marlon Cox remembered for his talent, personality and sense of humor
Musician and entrepreneur Marlon Jermaine Cox died on Saturday, April 29, 2023, after a suffering a medical emergency in early April.
Jean Allen Eggleston remembered for her substance and style
Jean Allen Eggleston, a lifelong Richmonder, died on Monday, May 1, 2023, at the age of 89. She will be remembered as loving and supportive to her family, a loyal friend, a kind teacher and a fashionista.
John Fitzhugh Jones Jr., educator and child advocate, remembered
Retired Army Reserve Lt. Col. John Fitzhugh Jones Jr., who spent three decades sched- uling classes and counseling students in Richmond Public Schools, has died.
William U. Booker Sr., entrepreneur, civic and spiritual leader, dies at age 95
William Ulysses Booker Sr. sought to seize the opportunities that came his way.
Harry Belafonte, activist and entertainer, dies at 96
Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment gi- ant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has died. He was 96.
Margaret Elizabeth Cooper Osei remembered for her selfless roles in civic, social and church organizations
For more than 30 years, Margaret Elizabeth Cooper Osei helped root out discrimination against employees in Virginia government offices as an Equal Employment Opportunity investigator for the state Department of Human Resources Management. But Ms. Osei was better known for …
Richmond’s Randall Robinson reshaped American’s foreign policy, forced change in South Africa
Seared by the segregation he grew up with in Richmond, Randall Maurice Robinson championed change in American policies toward African and the Caribbean nations that he considered unjust and undergirded by racial bias.
Former record store owner remembered
William F. “Bill” Kennedy, founder and owner of BK Music, a record store in Richmond’s South Side, died Tuesday, March 14, 2023, after a bout with pneumonia. Mr. Kennedy, who was 70, had decades of experience in the music industry …
Helen Harris, a leading voice for Henrico County’s Black residents, remembered
Thanks to Helen Virginia Epps Harris, Henrico County annually celebrates the holiday in honor of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and also has dramatically increased its hiring of Black employees. Her impact on public policy is just …
Rev. Clifford B. Chambliss Jr. dies at 81
The Rev. Clifford Boss Chambliss Jr. was just 25 when he was tapped to lead a new job training initiative that more senior Black min- isters were organizing to help people find work and escape poverty.
Virginia Hayes remembered for her creative teaching
As a kindergarten and first grade teacher at Blackwell Elementary School, Virginia Hayes was concerned that too many children arrived with little knowledge of numbers, counting and the concepts of adding and subtracting. Ms. Hayes set out to change that …
Malinda S. Jones, who worked to spread faith, dies at 88
For 24 years, Malinda Smith Jones organized weekly revivals in Richmond in church parking lots and other open spaces from June through August.
Bettye Jean Branch Bragg, former Head Start aide, dies at age 80
Bettye Jean Branch Bragg touched the lives of hundreds of Richmond children during her 34 years as a teacher’s aide in Head Start, a program to prepare 3 and 4-year-olds for kindergarten and higher grades.
Karl E. Bren, housing advocate, dies at 78
Tennessee transplant Karl Ellis Bren is being remembered for his influence and impact on affordable housing, environmental policy and homelessness during his 38 years in Richmond.
