Here’s what various Long Beach leaders say about Doris Topsy-Elvord

Iconic Long Beach assemblage person Doris Topsy-Elvord died connected Wednesday, Dec. 15.

She perpetually broke caller crushed successful Long Beach, specified arsenic being the archetypal Black pistillate elected to the City Council and the archetypal Black idiosyncratic to service connected the harbor commission. As such, she was beloved successful the city. You tin work her obituary here.

But present are immoderate comments from different Long Beach leaders:

Dee Andrews, erstwhile Sixth District councilman who succeeded Topsy-Elvord

“She truly cared astir people. She was progressive successful everything she did to marque the assemblage better.  She volition beryllium profoundly missed.”

Naomi Rainey-Pierson, president of the section section of the NAACP

Rainey-Pierson was a pupil moving astatine Gemco erstwhile she archetypal met Topsy-Elvord, who told her she could bash amended successful a vocation moving with youth. Rainey-Pierson began moving with the Long Beach Unified School District.

“She generously gave sage wisdom, proposal and help, the essence of the ‘village’ guardian.”

“Her proposal started maine connected a lifelong travel to unfastened doors, particularly for our young people, that is thing I proceed to this precise day.  This beautiful, elegant pistillate counseled me, a idiosyncratic that she didn’t know.  Mother Doris continued to counsel and pb countless individuals of each races to recognize their afloat imaginable passim her exceptional life.”

Gina Rushing Maguire, precocious retired president of St. Anthony High School

“Doris’ beingness was groundbreaking and that she was a fantastic person is to understate her achievements, arsenic good arsenic her value arsenic a arrogant alumna of St. Anthony High School and relation exemplary for our schoolhouse community. Her interaction volition beryllium felt for galore years, evidenced done the lives of those she touched and encouraged. Doris was a changeless inspiration to maine personally and to truthful galore others, ever supportive, astute and savvy, afloat of humor, kindness and generosity. She is present and everlastingly volition ever beryllium a Saint!”

Phyllis Venable, president of Sister Cities of Long Beach and CEO of Silhouette Consulting Group

“Doris was foremost my person with a superior F.  She was generous, astir to a fault. She genuinely cared astir radical — adjacent those she did not know. She ever had her manus out, giving not taking. She was charming, witty, and ever had immoderate bully proposal and practically thing other you needed successful her purse — information pin, mints, Band-Aid, rubber band, needle and thread. etc.

In 2002, I convinced Doris to travel with maine connected a travel to my birthplace of Montgomery, Alabama, and my hometown of Columbus, Georgia. She had not been South for immoderate magnitude of clip since she near Vicksburg, Mississippi. I took her to Rosa Parks Museum, MLK fountain astatine the Southern Poverty Law Center (where she uncontrollably cried), Tuskegee Institute, Dexter Avenue Baptist Church and truthful galore much venues important to the Civil Rights movement. Doris ne'er stopped talking astir that trip. She and I had an adjacent stronger enslaved aft we returned home.”

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