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F e b ru a ry 2 1,200 1
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P o rtla n d
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Metro/Religion
H M M M N M M M H M M M I
M H M
Portland Teaching Pioneer Dies at 94
R obert Ford w as b o m Aug. 17,
1906 in Shaw nee, O kla. His p ar
ents w ere G eorge W ashington Ford
and A daline G entry, both b o m into
slavery.
A fter com pleting high school in
1926, he decided to go to college to
b ecom e a physician like his older
brother, but later decided that teach-
ing was m ore rew arding. He went
to N ew Y ork C ity to earn m oney
for his education and held m any
jo b s, including polishing brass at
G rand C entral Station. He w rote
several plays and voluntarily con
ducted a com m unity theater group.
H e graduated cum laude from
M organ State College, Baltim ore,
M d. in 1934. He returned to O kla
hom a to teach in Shaw nee and
Enid.
M r. Ford thanked one o f his
form er students for his decision to
com e to O regon. A high school
student dropped out o f school to
com e to Portland to w ork for the
K aiser industry. The student re
turned and show ed Mr. Ford one
o f his em ploym ent checks. It was
then that Mr. Ford quit teaching
and cam e to O regon, arriving in
1942. H e lived in V anport and was
em ployed at K aiser in V ancouver,
W ash, until it closed.
He decided to apply for a teach
ing position in Portland, but was
hesitant to do so since there was an
absence o f m inority teachers in the
Portland system .
In July 1945, the Portland School
B oard released the announcem ent
o f its first A frican A m erican m ale
teacher w ho w ould be assigned to
Robert Ford was one o f the first two black teachers in Portland in 1945.
He taught at Eliot and Holladay schools.
E liot School, the present site o f the
M att D ishm anC om m unityC enter.
L ater, he taught at H olladay
School. H e w as the first A frican
A m erican teacher to teach in high
school, assigned to Roosevelt High
School.
M r. F ord continued to w rite
plays and featured m any students
on stage. It w as also his first op
portunity to teach in a racially inte
grated system . H e becam e well
know n for his stage productions
and he also had a travelling troupe.
H e also coached a dram a group at
K nott Street C enter. M r. Ford de
voted 27 years to teaching, retiring
in 1972.
H e o fte n c o rre sp o n d e d w ith
form er students as far aw ay as
C hina and A rabia and various cities
in U nited States. T hey credited him
w ith their success.
Som e o f his accom plishm ents
include a 1948 E bony M agazine
article that featured him as a Port
land teacher; he received local and
national acclaim from 1956-61 for
his w ork on the Y earbook produc
tion at R oosevelt H igh School. He
was elected T eacher o f the Y ear by
Portland A ssociation o f T eachers
in 1970; in 1983, form er students
sponsored a “ W e A re Som ebody”
banquet to thank Mr. Ford for the
support and inspiration he gave
them .
In 1985, outstanding m em bers
o f the com m unity and c itiz e n ’s
groups dedicated the W est W ing at
K ing Facility to honor him as the
f ir s t m a le A fric a n A m e ric a n
teacher.
D uring his professional career,
he w as selected to attend sem inars
sponsored by M ills C ollege, O ak
land, Calif, in cultural relations.
Fie trained at least 25 students to
becom e teachers and w as proud to
have been a part o f the lives o f his
students. H e appreciated the sup
port and encouragem ent he re
ceived from the m any parents, the
com m unity and all the teachers
and adm inistrators he w orked with.
Mr. Ford w as a m em ber o f Phi
B eta Psi Fraternity.
B obbie Jean N unn o f Portland, a
stepdaughter, survives him .
H e w as a m em ber o f Bethel
A .M .E. Church.
A m em orial service w ill be held
W ednesday, Feb. 21,2001 at 12:30
p.m . at St P h illip s E p isc o p a l
C hurch, 120 N .E . K nott St.
Churches Join Campaign
to Raise Awareness
T h r o u g h o u t th e m o n th o f
F e b r u a r y , m in is te r s a n d p r ie s ts
h a v e b e e n s p r e a d in g th e w o rd
a b o u t d ia b e te s to th e ir c o n
g re g a tio n s , e s p e c ia lly A f r i
c a n - A m e r ic a n s . T h e a w a r e
n e s s c a m p a ig n is s p o n s o r e d
b y th e A f r ic a n - A m e r ic a n D ia
b e te s P r o g r a m C o m m itte e , a
g r o u p s u p p o r te d b y th e A m e r i
c a n D ia b e te s A s s o c ia tio n .
L a s t y e a r , m o r e th a n 5 0
c h u r c h e s p a r tic ip a te d in “ D ia
b e te s S a b b a th .” O r g a n iz e r s
h o p e th a t m o r e o f N o r th a n d
N o r th e a s t P o r t l a n d ’s 125
c h u r c h e s w ill ta k e tim e to w a rn
p e o p le a b o u t th e d is e a s e a n d
its c o m p l i c a t i o n s .
O re g o n
S ta te S e n a to r A v e l G o r d le y
s e r v e s a s th is y e a r ’s h o n o r a r y
C h a ir p e r s o n fo r th e c a m p a ig n .
D ia b e te s is a d is e a s e th a t a f
fe c ts th e b o d y ’s a b ility to p r o
d u c e o r r e s p o n d to in s u lin , a
h o rm o n e th a t a llo w s b lo o d g lu
c o s e ( b lo o d s u g a r ) to e n te r
th e c e lls o f th e b o d y a n d b e
u sed fo r e n e rg y .
D ia b e te s
f a lls in to tw o m a in c a te g o r ie s :
T y p e 1, w h ic h u s u a lly b e g in s
d u r in g c h ild h o o d o r a d o l e s
c e n c e , o r T y p e 2 , th e c o m m o n
fo rm o f th e d is e a s e w h ic h c a n
r e s u lt in a m p u ta tio n , h e a r t a t
ta c k , a n d s tr o k e .
D ia b e te s is th e s e v e n th le a d
in g c a s e o f d e a th in th e U .S .,
k i l l i n g m o r e t h a n 1 8 0 ,0 0 0
p e o p le e a c h y e a r . T h e r e is n o
c u r e . C u r r e n tly , m o re th a n 2.3
m illio n , n e a r ly 11 p e r c e n t o f
A f r ic a n A m e r ic a n p o p u la tio n
n a tio n w id e s u f f e r fro m th is
lif e - th r e a te n in g d is e a s e , an d
m o r e th a n o n e - th ir d o f th e m
d o n o t k n o w it. B la c k s a re
n e a r ly tw o - tim e s m o r e lik e ly
to h a v e d ia b e te s th a n W h ite s .
O n e - in - f o u r B la c k w o m e n
o v e r a g e 55 h a v e d ia b e te s .
M o re th a n 25 p e r c e n t o f A f r i
c a n - A m e r ic a n s b e tw e e n th e
a g e o f 65 a n d 74 h a v e th e
d is e a s e . In 1 9 9 9 , d ia b e te s in
th e U .S . in c r e a s e d b y n e a r ly 7
p e r c e n t, w ith th e h ig h e s t g a in s
a m o n g A fric a n -A m e ric a n s
a n d H is p a n ic s . T h e fe d e r a l
g o v e r n m e n t h a s c a lle d th e r is e
d r a m a tic - e v id e n c e o f an u n
f o ld in g e p id e m ic . S y m p to m s
o f d ia b e te s in c lu d e th ir s t, o c
c a s io n a l b lu rry v is io n , fre q u e n t
u r in a tio n , u n u s u a l tir e d n e s s o r
d r o w s in e s s , a n d u n e x p la in e d
w e ig h t lo s s .
O n ly a d o c to r c a n d e te rm in e
i f a p e r s o n h a s th e d is e a s e .
D ia b e te s c a n b e c o n tro lle d by
d ie t and e x e rc ise a n d in so m e
c a s e s , m e d ic a tio n . F o r m o re in
fo rm a tio n on D ia b e te s S a b b a th ,
c o n ta c t C h o n itia S m ith -S u h ailah
at (5 0 3 ) 2 8 8 -5 9 9 5 a n d (5 0 3 )
2 8 3 -8 8 1 3 . F o r g e n e ra l in fo rm a
tio n on d ia b e te s , c o n ta c t B ev
B ro o m fie ld at th e A m erican D ia
b e te s A s s o c ia tio n , (5 0 3 ) 7 3 6 -
2 7 7 0 , e x te n s io n 7 2 9 4 .
Obituaries
M ae Frances H arris
"Uhauii
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¿xóius 25 MQ A
8:5
Funeral services were held Tues
day, Feb. 13, 2001, in Caldw ell’s
Colonial Chapel for Mae Frances
Harris, who diedFeb. 8 ofcancerat
age 72. Mrs. Harris was bom Sept.
3,1928, in Little Rock, Ark.
Her maiden name was Winters.
She moved to Portland in 1945 and
was a records clerk for the Portland
Police Bureau until retiring in 1989.
She was a member o f Hughes Me
morial United Methodist Church.
In 1948,she married LonnieB.
Harris; he died in 1980. Survivors
include her daughters, Barbara and
Rita; sister, Jean Massey; broth
ers, Jackson Winters, Jim Winters,
John Winters and Newton Win
ters; and two grandchildren. Inter
ment is in Rose City Cemetery.
C larence L. W ebster
Evanjcelist Marne R W e ll*
W o m en ’s C onvention Président
Evangelist Cordelia W allace
Brooklyn, New York
A funeral was held Feb. 9,2001,
in Killingsworth Little Chapel o f
theChimes forClarenceL. Webster,
who died Feb. 1 o f congestive heart
failure at age 73. Mr. W ebster was
bom Feb.22,1927, in Lecompte, L a
During W orld W ar 11, he served in
the U.S. M arine Corps. In 1947,he
moved to Portland. He worked for
Union Pacific Railroad formore than
40 years, retiring as a commissary
manager in 1987. He was also a
p a rt-tim e salesm an for H .C .
Plummer Real Estate fora few years
in the 1970s. In 1949, he married
Ella Mae Johnson. Survivors in
c lu d e h is w ife ; and siste rs,
Constance Jackson and Betty Jo
C otton. Interm ent w ill be in
W illametteNational Cemetery.
Keynote Speaker
W illie Lee Jones
Mrs. Rosemary Daniels
Vice Piesident W om en'* Convention
REGISTRATION $25.00
H o te l A c c o m m o d a tio n s
R am ada Inn Airport
6 2 2 1 NE 82n d Phone (5 0 3 ) 2 5 5 -6 5 1 1
Nightly R a te $ 5 5 .0 0 D e a d lin e M arch 5th, 2 0 0 1
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DEPRESSION
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A funeral was held Tuesday,
Feb. 20,2001, in Mount Olivet Bap
tist Church in Portland for W illie
Lee Jones, who died Feb. 13 at age
79.
Mr. Jones was bom Jan. 17,1922,
in Gilmore County, Texas. He was
raised in Texas and served in the
U.S. Army during W orld W ar II in
Europe. He moved to Portland in
1950, and was a bus driver for Tri-
Met until his retirement in 1984. He
was a member o f the church. In the
early 1950s, he married Martha
Yates; she died in 1997. In Febru
ary 2000, he married Betty Jean
Pierce. Survivors include his wife;
daughter, Gwendolyn; sons, Eddie
Jones and Henry Rivers; three
grandchildren; and tw o great
grandchildren. Interm ent is in
W illamette National Cemetery.
Arrangements are by Killingswortli
Little Chapel o f the Chimes.
Sylvester A. Paschal Sr.
A funeral was held Friday, Feb.
16,2001, in Bethel A.M.E. Church
for Sylvester A. Paschal Sr., who
died Feb. 8 at age 79. Mr. Paschal
was bom Sept. 5,1921, in Stephens,
Ark. He moved to Portland in 1952
and worked for Rich M anufactur
ing (later Varicast) for 34 years
before retiring in 1987. He was a
member ofthe church. In 1944,he
married Frankie Lee Sanders; she
died in 2000. Survivors include his
daughters, Doris J. Fair, Florida J.
Blake, Rockford A. Paschal and
Shirley M. Paschal; sons, Sylvester
A. Jr. and Raymond E.; 12 grand
children; and 21 great-grandchil
dren. Interment is in Rose City
Cemetery. Arrangements are by
Rose City Funeral Home.
1