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Obituary
Beatrice Leola Cannon Gilmore was welcomed into the world on Monday, June 29, 1931 by her parents, Beatrice McKinney Cannon and her father, Ural “Pete” Cannon. She spent the first eleven years of her life in Tallulah, LA where, she says, “ There were plenty of family to visit and cousins to play with. We played hopscotch, tag and hide and seek. We had the most fun racing one another and became good runners.”
In 1942 the family was part of the great migration from the Jim Crow South. They moved to Las Vegas so her father could get a wartime job paying better wages at a nearby magnesium plant. The family lived in a ”tent city” and she describes that
move as “a culture shock” because segregation was not as strict and she was introduced to Mexican culture by way of the “musicians who stood in the walking paths singing and playing their banjos. We loved their music and even though we could not understand their language, my sister and our friends frequently visited them.”
At the age of 13, the family left Las Vegas and migrated to Portland so her parents could work in the Kaiser Shipyards. They were assigned an apartment on Broadacres Street in Vanport, OR; the city built to house WWII shipyard workers and their families. She comments, “ Life was full during our time in Vanport. My sister and I were proud to play in the Vanport School Band and march in the Rose Festival Parade. My only disappointment was having to live with the indignity of segregated housing and medical care. ” The family resided in Vanport, until they were washed into Portland as a result of the Vanport flood on May 30, 1948. From 2014-2021, Bea shared her memories of Vanport as a storyteller for the Vanport Mosaic project and the Oregon Fair Council Housing Council Bus Tours.
In 1952 Bea married a handsome Air Force serviceman, Rozell Gilmore (Rev). They lived in Portland, OR and four children were born to that union; LaVeta, Mary, Anthony and Reuben. She was a working mother who made sure her children took music lessons and interacted with people from other cultures. Her children remember her as, “Very practical…one who never hesitated to talk with us about anything. We had household chores that paid off when we left home.” She enjoyed interior design, sewing clothes for her children and grandchildren, making ceramics and bowling.
Bea knew she wanted to be a registered nurse and during the segregated 1950’s, with intervention on her behalf from the Dean at the OHSU School of Nursing, she was admitted to and graduated from the school as the first African American nurse in 1955. She spent the next 44 years of her life as a public health nurse, caring for the sick, teaching student nurses, advocating for better health care practices and policies and managing two Multnomah County Health Department Clinic. .She and Rozell lived and worked in Portland, OR the majority of their lives, and spent a total of 10 years in Fort Wayne, IN, Miami, FL, Chicago, IL, and Seattle, WA.
Bea was a woman of faith and lived a truly Christian life. She was kind, compassionate and accepting of all people. Many people felt “special” when they talked with her because she was such a good listener and gave thoughtful advice to young and old alike. She was a leader in her congregation and a woman who had questions. She joined discussion groups in current events, politics and religion to find answers to those questions and encouraged her children to think beyond prevailing religious doctrines. She and Rozell had a bumper sticker on their car that said, “God is too big to fit into one religion.”
Bea was also a fun-loving person. She loved playing dominoes, cards, and monopoly with her family and enjoyed socializing and partying with friends at Willamette View. She also sang soprano in the Salt & Light Lutheran “Seat of Your Pants” choir. Trips across the country to Cannon Family and Jack Summerall Family reunions were highlights in her life. In her later years she enjoyed life and activities with her dear friends, the late Ben Webb, and over the last three years with Bernard della Santina.
Bea departed from this life on Wednesday, December 29, 2021 at the age of 90 years and 6 months to the day. She was welcomed to the other side by her husband of 58 years, Rozell; son, Anthony; parents, Ural and Beatrice; brothers, Ural Jr. and David and a host of relatives and friends. She leaves on this side her sisters, Marge and Pat; her dear friend, Bernard; children, LaVeta, Mary (Wisson) & Reuben; daughter-in-law, Petra; grandchildren, Gabriel (Katherine), LeAnne (Kristian), Kadzo, Xavier, Michael, (Sarah), Nuru (Brian), Rose, Benjamin; god-grandchildren, Oquendo and Maria; step-grandson, Ian; great-grandchildren, Jade, Kelechi, Jalen, Nyomi, Emiko, Malaika, Lion, in-utero Baby Jones; god-great-grandchildren, Samira, Sidney, Sekaria; beloved sister-in-laws, Marian Gilmore, Ethel Gilmore, Colleen Copeland, Wilma Jean Robinson, Corin Howard, Verdine Robinson (Sam); brother-in-law, James Lee Daniels (Sheron), and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends. She will forever be in our hearts.
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