TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Theophilus A. Logan 1917–2023 San Diego-based Realtor, WWII Veteran, U.S. Army
By Aaron Williams
After 20 years of dedicated military service, he retired in July 1962 with the rank of Major having served in World War II and the Korean Conflict. Dur- ing his service he received numerous awards, including a Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster in both World War II and Korean Conflict. Thereafter, he and his family moved to San Diego anf in 1965, he opened Logan Realty. Brother Logan joined the San Diego Association of Realtors in 1965, becom- ing the first African American member. He went on to serve as a member in various capacities including several terms as a local, state, and national director. As an Association Director, in 1968, he was instrumental in the devel- opment of a drug intervention program implemented in high schools through- out the United States. As a result of his foresight, the Association received the National Association of Realtors' third highest award for community service. In 1978, he was elected and served as the first African American President of the Association. During his career as a broker, his primary focus was to secure homeown- ership for the African American and Hispanic American communities during the time of "Red Lining" when lend- ing institutions refused to make loans in targeted areas of the city. As a real estate broker, he knew the importance of investing in real estate. He fought to secure FHA and VA loans to better expand housing opportunities for people of color. Brother Logan was an active member of the San Diego Commu- nity serving in many capacities. Logan
Realty, "The Office," as his family called it, became a landmark in the Southeast Community. The Office remained ac- tive until 2010 when he retired at age 93. During his lifetime, he received nu- merous awards. In 2011, he and Martha were recognized by KPBS and Union Bank as the 2011 Local Hero during Black History Month. He was most proud of receiving the distinguished recognition of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human Dignity award in Janu- ary 2022. Brother Logan was active in the Fra- ternity, and served as Polemarch of the San Diego (CA) lumni Chapter, from 1970-1971. He was named a Living Legend of the chapter in 2017. For his 100 th birthday, he asked for an iPhone and learned how to send group texts. He never stopped wanting to learn and he stayed active — two things his family believed inurred to his long and happy life. Left to cherish his memory is his wife of 65 years, Martha Logan, a retired attorney; his son, William Logan (Devon); daughter Barbara Logan (Tevel Holeman Jr.); granddaughter Logan Celiene Holeman; grandsons War- ren Logan, Robert J. Walz (Chibuzo), and Eric Walz; great grandson Arinze Walz; and many nephews, nieces, grand nephews and nieces, and great grand nephews and nieces, and a host of other family and friends.
T heophilus Alonzo Logan, born April 30, 1917, in Lima, OK, was the first of five children of Jerome Henry Logan and Mary Magdalene (Mollie) Payne Logan. He attended elementary school in Lima, and in 1935 graduated from Douglass High School in nearby Wewoka, OK. After high school, Logan enrolled at Lin- coln University in Pennsylvania. He was 1936 initiate of the Lincoln University Chapter, the Epsilon of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Logan earned a B.A. in liberal arts in 1939. After graduation he worked for a short time in southeast Oklahoma as a church school organizer for the United Presbyterian Church. He subsequently moved to San Diego, CA, where he worked as a Social Worker until being drafted into a segregated U.S. Army in April 1942. He attended Infantry Officers Candidate School in Fort Benning, GA, where the Army commissioned him as a second lieutenant. Following his commission, the Army assigned he was assigned to the 92 nd Buffalo Infantry Division, 365 th Combat Regiment, an all Black divi- sion. He went on to serve foreign tours of duty in Italy, Germany, Japan, and Korea, and also served as Assistant Pro- fessor of Military Science and Tactics at Lincoln University, Missouri. It was there, 1957, he met and married his wife, Martha R. Nash, who was also an instructor at Lincoln University.
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