Helen Conley Cargle (1924-2021)

Helen Conley Cargle

Devotion to Friends and FAMILy.

Helen Conley Cargle, (1924-2021) was beloved figure of the Conley Family. A loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, she left the world on a fitting day, and passed away on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 9, 2021 at the age of 96. Helen was born July 15, 1924 in Harvest, Alabama, the 10th of Benjamin Harrison and Effie Fowlkes Conley’s 13 children.

The daughter of Reverend Benjamin Harrison and Effie Fowlkes Conley, she was the 10th of their 13 children, Helen was the granddaughter of Reverend Jonas Conley, great-granddaughter of Reverend Green & Harriet Conley, and 2x-great-granddaughter of James & Jane Conley, progenitors of the Conley Family. Since her youth, she was a member of the Conley Chapel CME Church. She attended Alabama A&M University, founded by William Councill as The Lincoln School with financial support of her ancestor Paschal Conley Sr. She earned a Bachelor of Science from A&M and was a charter member of the Epsilon Gamma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, her beloved sorority.

Helen married Frank Edward Cargle, Sr. on July 3, 1949, and the couple migrated to Detroit, MI shortly thereafter. In 1951, Helen gave birth to a daughter, Fran Yvonne, and in 1954, the family welcomed a son, Frank, Jr. It was also during this time that Helen began her 31-year career in materials management for the Army Tank Automotive Command Division of the Federal Government of the United States. In this role she oversaw the global commissioning and retirement of tanks and armored vehicles for the armed services. After her official retirement, Helen worked for several more years as a licensed real estate agent for Cargle Realty Company, founded and managed by Frank, Sr., and also increased her support for local arts organizations.

Helen was a life-long patron of the arts who, in addition to her philanthropic contributions, maintained decades-long membership in her church choir at Carter Metropolitan, C.M.E. Church. A steadfast supporter of the Fine Arts in Michigan, she raised two classically trained singers in Fran and Frank. She was a tireless supporter of Fine Arts exposure and instruction for not only her own children, but countless others in her community. Sponsorship from the Cargle Realty Company was ubiquitous at arts performances and exhibits for children for nearly five decades. During her 68 years in Detroit, she was an enthusiastic supporter of the Brazeal Dennard Chorale, the Detroit Repertory Theater, and the Museum of African American History among other organizations. She was also deeply involved in her Alabama A&M and Alpha Kappa Alpha Detroit alumni chapter.

Helen was preceded in death by her husband, Frank E. Cargle, Sr., her parents, and siblings: Jonas Conley, Clara Gurley, Sadie Jacobs, Lillian Jackson, Lawson Conley, Hattie Conley, Mae Sue Pulley, Pearline Coure, Roy Conley, Ophelia Boyd, and Binford Conely. She is survived by her children, Fran Cargle Butler and Frank E Cargle Jr.,grandchildren, Brittny Cargle, June Young (Marvin), Ashly Cargle-Thompson (Denise), Nina Mena (Juan) and Randy Kyle Butler, great-grandson, Legend Mena, sister, Annie O. Lorick, and a host of nieces and nephews.

Juliette Rodgers Thornton (1947-2020)

Juliette Rodgers Thornton

Lioness of the Conley Family.

Juliette Rodgers Thornton (1947-2020) was a powerful force for the preservation of her family’s heritage and legacy of contributions to the United States. She was a devoted leader in her community and the state of Tennessee. Juliette was the daughter of Cleatus N. Rodgers Sr.; granddaughter of Bessie Conley Rodgers; great-granddaughter of Paschal ‘Pony’ Conley; 2x-great-granddaughter of William ‘Bill’ Conley; 3x-great-granddaughter and a direct descendant of James and Jane Conley, caretakers of Green Bottom Inn & Horsetrack, and progenitors of the Conley Family.

Juliette Rodgers was born April 17, 1947 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She often recalled a secure childhood surrounded by friends and her extended Conley Family. She had deep relationships with her grandmother, Bessie Conley Rodgers. Juliette’s earliest memories were of listening in rapt attention as her grandmother’s friends told stories of the Bessie’s grandfather William ‘Bill’ Conley and his brothers who were traveling carpenters build barn, stables and homes across the Tennessee Valley. Juliette was a primary source of our knowledge of the original Conley Brothers and their travels across the South building homes, dressed in fine garb on their way to homebuilding sites by horse drawn carriage and the earliest versions of railcars.

An astute historian, perhaps no other Conley is more responsible for exalting the family’s tradition in ranks of Buffalo Soldiers. It was Juliette who fought hardest for the designation of 2nd Lt. Paschal & Mary Jones Conley’s the 4-home Conley Family compound as a National historical landmark in Havre, Montana. Juliette’s meticulous research unearthed long-forgotten documents and other materials detailing Quartermaster Conley’s life. Juliette chronicled Paschal and Mary’s journey as a military couple moving from state to state under the command of General John J. Pershing, and his role in settling what is modern day Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and New Mexico as a member of the 24th, 9th and 10th Calvary Regiments beginning in 1878 when Paschal Jr. was only 21 years old. Her research also complimented that of her Conley Cousin Diane Morin on Paschal Conley’s sisters Sallie Conley Thornton and Fanny Conley Nemo.

Juliette’s father Cleatus was a talented marksman in the Army during World War II, advancing to the highest levels of marksmanship. His discipline and integrity in the military paved the way for his ascent in the Chattanooga police force after the WWII in 1946. He would become the first Black police captain and a balancing force in a town known for its ethnic tensions. She adored her father, and benefitted greatly from his sterling reputation with the most powerful figures in the city and the state of Tennessee. Her pride in her father was evident in the many diaries, letters and photos from her childhood and generations prior that Juliette kept tucked away in home until her death.

She parlayed her father’s service as a pioneer integrating the Chattanooga police force, and Juliette became the standard bearer of the family’s tradition in civil service. She worked in a mix of roles at the city, county, state and federal government level for nearly 50 years. She worked in some capacity for three former United States Senators from Tennessee, including Senators Bob Corker, Bill Frist and Lamar Alexander, as well as countless county commissioners and Chattanooga mayors. She was widely respected throughout the state, and became a Conley Family icon of civic duty.

Ingra Alethea Conley (1969-2018)

Ingra A. Conley

Intellect, Beauty and Grace.

Ingra Conley (1969-2018) Ingra was a woman of extraordinary intelligence, dignity and honor. Like many in the Conley Family, loyalty was hallmark trait among her many virtues. She was loyal to her family and the organizations that filled her life with meaning and purpose in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Plano metropolitan area of Texas.

The daughter of Roosevelt Conley, Jr. and Flora Ingram Ector, and sister to Rochelle A. Conley, she was a friend to many, and will be missed by a long list of aunts, uncles, cousins and colleagues. Ingra was the granddaughter of Roosevelt Conley Sr., great-granddaughter of Walter Conley, 2x-great-granddaughter of Willie Conley. Since her youth. She was a direct descendant of James and Jane Conley, caretakers of Green Bottom Inn & Horsetrack, and progenitors of the Conley Family, one of America’s oldest and a Founding Family of Alabama - already present when statehood was granted in 1819.

Ingra’s life was filled with a love of learning. She graduated from Lee High School in Huntsville, Alabama in 1987. Ingra attended Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, Tennessee, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1991. In 1996, Ingra earned an MBA degree from Clark Atlanta University, in Atlanta, Georgia, a Conley Family alma mater co-founded by Ingra’s distant ancestor Governor Benjamin Conley, half-brother of Green Conley, who led the abolitionist movement prior to the Civil War, before leading the state during Radical Reconstruction.

Ingra was a lively and adventurous woman, and her travels took her far from the Tennessee Valley Region. She traveled the world, visiting: Czech Republic; Barbados; Brazil; France; Singapore; Spain; and South Africa. She made the Dallas-Fort Worth-Plano area her home, and was active in many social and civic organizations. She was a successful technology professional, working for Sabre Corporation, Texas Instruments, Microsoft Corporation during her career. It should be noted that she was a pivotal member of the Sabre Travel Software team after it was spun off from American Airlines into a separate company. The Sabre Travel reservation system enabled other companies to search, price, book, and ticket travel for airlines, hotels, and car rental companies.

Ingra was woman of endless talent, and her artistic pursuit complimented her engineering prowess. She was even a calligrapher for the Dallas Cowboys (2001-2003) and a creator of several custom typefaces.

Her loyalty to her institutions was exemplified by her 20 years of annual giving to the Black Cultural Center at Tennessee Tech, the college experience she credited with her professional foundation. Upon her death, she gave Black Cultural Center of Tennessee Tech the very first estate gift in the organization’s history.

Kirk Randolph Elder (1949-2019)

Kirk Randolph Elder

Son, Soldier, Father and Brother.

Kirk Randolph Elder (1949-2019) Kirk was a humble man, dedicated to his family and country. He followed his father’s footsteps in military service, and served his country, with dignity and honor, joining the many 'Silent Heroes' of the Conley Family's 160-year military legacy dating back to Kirk’s ancestor Matthew Conley in the U.S. Colored Troops in 1863. A dutiful son, loyal brother, loving father, patient uncle, Conley Cousin to many, Kirk was the son of family icon Viola Patricia Conley Elder; grandson of Paschal Conley Jr. ; great-grandson of Paschal 'Pony' Conley; 2x-great-grandson of William 'Bill' Conley; 3x-great-grandson of Conley Family progenitors James & Jane Conley. A host of friends miss him deeply.

Born not long after his parents arrived in Los Angeles, he was a member of Western Knoll Congregational Church where he attended Sunday School taught by his mother. In his youth, he was a Cub Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, worked in his father’s business, Elder's Snack Bar, and also played Little League baseball. In these childhood experiences, Kirk learned the value of hard work, persistence and integrity at young age. He attended George Washington High School, also known as Washington Prep, in Los Angeles, before joining the United States Navy. In 1972 he married Patricia Ann McIntosh, from whom he was divorced in 1974. In 1980, he would marry Muriel Bishop.

Kirk would raise three children: Randolph Elder II, known as Randy; Stacey, and Eric.

Daryl Hatchett (1971-2019)

Daryl Hatchett

Quiet Courage AND ENDLESS FAITH

Daryl Hatchett (1971-2019) Daryl Hatchett was a quiet, gentle man who served his family, his community and his country, with dignity and honor. The son of Ollie Hatchett Sr. and Cleotha Garner Hatchett, his memories will be cherished by his children, Zachary Hatchett of Phoenix, AZ, Anastasia Hatchett and Mya Hatchett of Huntsville; sisters, Marian (Sylvester) Lyons of Madison and Cynthia Hatchett of Huntsville; brother, Ollie, Jr. (Nadra) Hatchett of Harvest; niece Amber Lyons of New York, NY; nephews Tyler and Jonathan Hatchett of Harvest; a host of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Daryl was a lifelong member of Conley C.M.E. Church in Huntsville, founded by an icon of the Conley Family, Jonas Conley. His father Ollie Hatchett Sr. led the Conley Chapel for nearly two decades. Daryl Hatchett was a direct descendant of family progenitors James & Jane Conley. He was the 3x-great-grandson of Harriet Conley, the 2x-great-grandson of Harriet’s son Jonas Conley, great-grandson of Cara Conley Garner, grandson of Thomas ‘Tommie’ Garner, and finally, son of Cleotha Garner Hatchett.

Daryl graduated from Sparkman High School in 1989. He entered the Air Force and served three years as an Aircraft Fuel Specialist and was honorably discharged in 1992. Daryl then worked for his father’s landscaping business, until his death. Daryl was a lifelong outdoorsman and car enthusiast. Daryl’s gentle and kind spirit will be missed by all those who knew him.

Daryl rests at the Conley Cemetery in Huntsville, Alabama, one of several family burial grounds in Madison County.