DATE: Wednesday, September 3, 1997          TAG: 9709030373

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   51 lines

ROSA V. DAUGHTRY

Miss Rosa V. Daughtry, 95, of 2719 Magnolia St., departed this life on Aug. 31, 1997, in her home.

A native of Portsmouth, she was the daughter of the late James W. and Mary Rogers Daughtry. Miss Daughtry attended Portsmouth Public Schools and was a member of the first graduating class from I.C. Norcom High School in 1923. She received the Normal Teacher's Certificate from Virginia State Normal and Agricultural School, and later earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Virginia State College. She was a sixth grade teacher in Portsmouth Public Schools and retired in 1969 after 46 years of service.

A member of Zion Baptist Church from an early age, she was a charter member of the Excelsior Club, organized in 1925, and was the last living charter member. She was a devoted member of the Lydia Lawrence-Dorcas Sunday School class. She was an active member of community, fraternal, social, and educational organizations, including the Portsmouth Teacher's Association, the Portsmouth Association of Classroom Teachers, the Virginia Teacher's Association, the Portsmouth Federal Teacher's Credit Union Board of Directors, the International Toastmistress Club, the Effingham YMCA Women's Board, the Truxton Player's Guild, and a charter member of the Jolly Traveller's Club and The Friendly Group.

Fraternal affiliations included Martha Chapter No. 10, Order of Eastern Star, Imperial Daughters of Isis, Arabia Court No. 23, Heroines of Jericho, Rhoda Court No. 2, the John Barnes Assembly No. 8, Order of the Golden Circle, and the Virginia State Council of Order of the Golden Circle. She held many offices and leadership roles in organizations over the years, and received numerous awards and citations for outstanding services. For years, the Portsmouth African-American Memorial Day Parade and Program that alternated between the Lincoln and Mount Calvary Cemeteries, was highlighted by a moving recitation of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address by Miss Daughtry.

She is survived by one sister, Mrs. Thelma D. Spellman, and her daughter, Miss Tyrian Spellman, both of Hampton; one brother, Joseph Daughtry of Smyrna, Del.; and four nieces, Mrs. Leatrice Roy of Silver Spring, Md., Mrs. Doris Means of Washington, D.C., Mrs. Constance Pergerson of Glen Burnie, Md., and Mrs. Dorothy Singletary of Baltimore; two nephews, William M. Daughtry Jr. of New York and Milton Hazzard of Baltimore; cousins and many close friends.

A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Friday in Zion Baptist Church by the Rev. H. Edward Whitaker. Interment will be in Greenlawn Memorial Gardens, Chesapeake. Fisher Funeral Home is in charge.

The family will be at the funeral home from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Zion Baptist Church Whitaker Annex Building Fund. ILLUSTRATION: Photo KEYWORDS: DEATH OBITUARY

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