During my early teen-age years, I noticed how active mom was in our community for causes such as fair housing, peace and putting an end to racial discrimination. She often welcomed many people of color to our home for luncheons and meetings—one of whom was the irrepressible Bobbi Gary[1].

Bobbi’s life shines for us and brightens our path toward better days for everyone. Bobbi was the first black female president of a Portland Public School PTA. This happened to be at Eliot Elementary (now Harriet Tubman Middle School) where I played football and where I began making friends with African-American kids.

Bobbi’s leadership and work for schools and many other causes often teamed my mom up with her. I watched and listened and understood their peaceful answers to injustice. From Bobbi’s Memoriam at the website listed below:

“She was proud of the number of rallies she attended for women’s rights, workers rights, and quality public education, and loved to recall the number of times she was arrested outside the South African Consulate for protesting apartheid.”

I knew Bobbi. For many months, her home was on my regular monthly route to pick up donated newspapers for the church fund-raiser. She was a woman you would want to know. If you love your family and long for a peaceful, fair future for our planet, you do know her, in a way.

Photos: Bobbi Lou Gary—posted with her Memoriam (Please see site below). Also, Jo Brown’s segment of the Peace Ribbon—Mom and the marchers encircled the Pentagon, Aug. 4, 1985

[1] See Bobbi’s Memoriam at: http://www.terryfamilyfuneralhome.com/sitemaker/sites/terryf0/obit.cgi?user=160113Gary