Obituaries

John William Garner 1950

(December 29, 1924 - October 9, 2015)  John William Garner of Saint Paul passed away on October 9th, 2015. Survived by his wife of 61 years, Leslie; sons, Reginald (Barbara) Garner and Paul Garner; grandchildren, Leslie and Ian; 2 great-grandchildren; niece, Estelle; also survived by a host of relatives and friends. Funeral Service Wednesday, October 14th, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the Pilgrim Baptist Church, 732 West Central Avenue, Saint Paul, Minnesota 55104. Interment with Full Military Honors at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. 

Aaron E. Johns, M.D. 1981

Dr. Aaron E. Johns entered into eternal rest on Saturday, August 1, 2015 at Methodist Hospital in Gary, Indiana. Dr. Johns served the west side of Gary as a family practice physician since 1996. 

Reverend Dr. Valentino Lassiter 1974

Reverend Dr. Valentino Lassiter, 63, of Shaker Heights died Friday June 12, 2015 at Sentara Complex Hospital in Hampton, Virginia. He was born on May 27, 1952 to the late Addie and Johnnie Lassiter. He was a graduate of John F. Kennedy High School, Fisk University, Boston University, and Eden Theological Seminary. He was currently the pastor of East View United Church of Christ and professor of religious studies at John Carroll University. He also served as Pastor in Residence at John Carroll University. He was a member of William T. Boyd lodge number 79, Moorland on the Move Community Association, Epilepsy Action Network, and the Ecumenical Disciples. He leaves to cherish his memories his wife, Yvonne Marie Lassiter of Shaker Heights, OH; three sons, Christian Valentino, Jeremy Bryce, Brian Roger, all of Shaker Heights, OH; one brother, Johnnie Wilson Lassiter of Suffolk, VA; two sisters, Laureen Lassiter Walker and Monica Synette both of Suffolk, VA, ; one uncle Roosevelt Walker (Dorothy) of Detroit, MI; one aunt, Pearleen Walker of Suffolk, VA; two nephews, Marquis A. Lassiter and Jarred C. Lassiter; a host of numerous relatives and friends. 

Mary Lee Dyson Martin 1935

Mary Lee Dyson Martin died peacefully on Thursday, August 20, 2015 just eight days before her 101st birthday.  Mary Lee lived a very full and meaningful life and will be remembered as a wonderful daughter, wife, mother and friend. Born in Dallas, Texas, she came to Fisk and pledged Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.  She lived in Detroit with her husband Wilbur Martin (deceased), children, Marilyn Martin Smith '70 and Charles Martin and grandson, Charles Martin, Jr for the majority of her very long and fruitful life.

Gloria Reeves Poe 1956

Gloria R. Poe married Booker Poe, M.D. on August 15, 1959. Between 1964 and 1969, the couple lived in Rochester, NY; Dayton, Ohio; Flint, Michigan; Wichita Falls, Texas; Oakland, California; and Tachikawa Air Force Base outside Tokyo, Japan. She moved to Atlanta with her famiy in 1969 and was a homemaker until 1976, when she began teaching biology at D.M. Therrell High School. She earned a master's degree in education in 1977 from Georgia State University. In the late 1980s she began working as a counselor at several elementary schools and Usher Middle School. She retired from the Atlanta Public Schools in 1997. Gloria was a devout member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in southwest Atlanta. She served as Senior Warden of the church, Superintendent of the Sunday School and taught the adult Bible class. That class was later renamed Hodge-Chivers-Poe Bible Class. She was elected as a pillar of St. Paul's in 2012. 

Orin William Rucker 1962

Orin W. Rucker passed away on Thursday, July 30, 2015. Mr. Rucker was a native Nashvillian, retired Federal Administrator and former Metro School teacher. In lieu of flowers, donations may be given to The Fisk Fund at Fisk University.

Marcus O. Tucker 1956

Retired juvenile court Judge Marcus O. Tucker, a pillar in the African-American community who in 1976 became the first black judge appointed to the Long Beach Municipal Court before rising to a post on the Los Angeles County Superior Court, died Saturday, August 8, 2015 of heart complications. He was 80.

Tucker attended Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C.  In 1976, he became the first black judge appointed to the Long Beach Municipal Court. The following year, his colleagues elected him as the court’s presiding judge.  Tucker’s three-decade judicial career also included time as a Superior Court commissioner.

He worked as the supervising juvenile court judge in Long Beach and Downey, and at one time presided over the entire Los Angeles County Juvenile Court system. He is credited for cutting truancy rates among kids who passed through his court and known as a compassionate juvenile court judge whose 30 years of service were marked by rehabilitating young delinquents throughout southeast Los Angeles County, Tucker retired in 2004.

Tucker was awarded by numerous groups for his public service. He earned the 1997 Jurist of the Year Award from the Juvenile Courts Bar Association. In 2002, Tucker was inducted into the National Bar Association Hall of Fame. The NAACP Long Beach chapter in 2013 honored Tucker among 21 trailblazers as part of its Shoulders We Stand On event, which recognized the contributions African-Americans have made in the city.