BK Blast Archive

Daisy Etta Booker Douglas, mother of BK member Elaine Douglas, passed away on November 6^th at the age of 98. A life-long learner and teacher, Mrs. Douglas taught Home Economics at Montclair High School for 26 years.

A memorial service will be held at First Congregational Church in Montclair on Friday, November 27 at 1:00pm. 

Shiva will be on Saturday, November 28th, at Elaine's home (160 Lincoln Street
Montclair) from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, with a Shiva Minyan at 7:00pm.

She was born on May 14, 1917 in Washington, D.C. to Henry and Mary Etta (Lyles) Booker, the middle of three children – Henry Jr. was the eldest and Alice was the baby of the family. Daisy learned early to strike a balance between her virtuoso older brother the organist and her lively younger sister. Daisy had a quick wit, a ready smile, and was always happy to make new friends.

From the start, her family emphasized the importance of education, sending Daisy to public schools in Washington. D.C. She would go “down the hill” from her home to Dunbar High School, one of the best schools in the country at that time for Blacks. She graduated from Dunbar in 1934, and went “up the hill” that fall to attend Howard University. She had a strong interest in art and fashion, but being the pragmatist, she decided to major in Home Economics knowing that she could get a job teaching with that degree. It was at Howard that she met her future husband, Frederick W. Douglas, who was studying to be a physician.

After she earned her B.S. in Home Economics in 1938, she relocated to Asheville, NC where she began her career as a teacher and where her desire to see new places started to develop. She only stayed in Asheville for two years teaching 7^th and 8^th grades. While she enjoyed the independence of being away from home, she realized that maybe things ‘up North’ weren’t so bad so she got another teaching job in Baltimore where the salaries were better, and the school programs were more extensive. She commuted between Washington and Baltimore, visiting her parents and her boyfriend, Fred. After teaching two years in Baltimore, she got a job closer to home teaching at Randall Junior High in Washington, DC in 1942.

World War II had started, and Fred was called to serve in the Army. They married on April 4, 1942, four days before he had to report for active duty at Fort Bragg, NC. Fred set sail for Liberia on June 19, 1942 and served at the 25^th Station Hospital for three years and 3 months. Upon his return and honorable discharge, Fred and Daisy moved to Montclair in 1946 with 6 week-old Elaine in tow. Three years later, their son Alan was born in September 1949.

Fred and Daisy were civil rights pioneers in Montclair – with the help of the NAACP and the American Veterans’ Committee, Fred was the first Black doctor to become a full attending physician on staff of Mountainside, and Community Hospitals so that he could treat his patients while they were in the hospital. Daisy was one of the first Black teachers in Montclair. She had applied for a teaching job in Montclair soon after arriving in 1946, but after she was called for the interview and they saw that she was Black, she didn’t hear back. This pattern repeated itself so she participated in PTA activities with Elaine and Alan’s schools and earned a Master's Degree in Education from Kean College in 1956. Finally, in 1957, after trying over the span of 10 years, Daisy was one in the first 10 black teachers hired to teach in the Montclair School District, starting at Glenfield Junior High School. She then moved to George Inness Junior High school in 1962 and when in 1967 George Inness was incorporated into the High School, Daisy was appointed the chairperson of the Home Economics department. She retired in 1983, having taught 34 years, 26 of them in Montclair.

Daisy was not only a career educator, but also a dedicated community servant. She served as a charter member of Jack & Jill of North Jersey, to provide a social outlet for Elaine and Alan. Always one to explore new horizons and meet new people, she became a member of The Girlfriends New Jersey Chapter in 1953. She was a member of First Congregational Church, the Montclair Chapter of the NAACP, the Teachers Club of Montclair, the American Bridge Association, the Plaza Bridge Club, the Howard University Alumni Association, and many other organizations dear to her heart.

Daisy loved to travel, but Fred wasn’t anxious to see the world after his time in the service. He would happily go to the Caribbean during the cold winters, and they settled on Barbados as their favorite getaway spot to relax. Daisy, however, had a sense of wanderlust, and wanted to see more of the world. She recruited her mother and sister to go on trips to Europe and North Africa. She traveled with her friends on cruises to Northern Europe, and all over the United States and Canada. She and her granddaughter went to South America together, and even visited penguins. In recent years, she was a regular at bridge tournaments all over the country, Girlfriends Conclaves, and Alpha Kappa Alpha conferences.

As a young person, Daisy loved fashion and sewing, and made many lifelong friends at the sewing table.  In her spare time, she made clothes for herself, her children, and later for her granddaughter. Every year, she would pick out a pattern for a formal dress and make it to wear for the Nor-Jer-Men’s formal gathering. Daisy and Fred also enjoyed entertaining friends and family at their home. Daisy was famous for her spicy barbecue sauce and Fred always attended the grill.

Daisy leaves to mourn and miss her and to celebrate her wonderfully long, productive and generous life many friends and family for whom she was and remains the model for living the good life. These include her daughter, Elaine Douglas, MD, son, Alan Douglas, granddaughter, Dawn Page and her husband John Roper, her great-grandson, Miles Roper, and many nieces, nephews and close friends. She was predeceased by her husband, Fred, brother Henry Booker, sister Alice Booker Tibbs, and niece Joan Alice Tibbs Eldridge.

A memorial service will be held at First Congregational Church in Montclair on Friday, November 27 at 1:00pm. The family is planning to inter her remains at Arlington National Cemetery with her husband. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make a donation in her name to the charity of your choice.