TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
and parents Olean Black Underwood and Dr. Jefferson Underwood. He is survived by his wife, Sara (née Wallace) Underwood, sons Slayton and Zachary and brother, Perrin Underwood. Col. (Ret.) Columbus Veasey, Jr. 1935-2021 Denver, CO Administrator, U.S. Air Force
in the practice of Internal Medicine. When his father retired in 1993, Under- wood continued the practice until his health required him to retire reluctantly. Underwood also was an adjunct profes- sor at his alma mater, Alabama State University, where he taught biology. Underwood was the recipient of numer- ous honors including The Young Demo- crats 2005 Physician of the Year and Achievement Award for Community Ser- vice in Health, the 2015 International Association of Internal Medicine's Top Doctor Award, the 2020 Laureate Award recipient from the Alabama Chapter of The American College of Physicians, and the 2020 Samuel Buford Word Award from the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. He was also awarded the Medical Association of the State of Alabama's Douglas L. Cannon Award for Medical Journalism. Underwood's professional member- ships included: The American Medical Association, The National Medical Association, The American College of Physicians, The International Society for Hypertension in Blacks, The Board of Medical Examiners for the State of Alabama, and The Editorial Board for the Journal of Ethnicity. He was also a member of the Montgomery County Medical Society and served on the Board of Trustees and as president. He was a member of the Medical Associa- tion of the State of Alabama's Board of Censors. He was a past President of the Board of Censors and was the first African-American male to serve as President of the Medical Association of Alabama. Underwood was a Life Member of the Fraternity and a member of the Mont- gomery (AL) Alumni Chapter. He also served on the board of directors for the Montgomery Area United Way, The Alli- ance for Responsible Individual Choices for AIDS/HIV, the Montgomery County Health Department Hunt Diabetic Clinic, Father Walter's Center for Gifted Children, and Habitat for Humanity. In addition, he served as a health editor for The Montgomery Advertiser. Brother Jefferson Underwood was preceded in death by his son, Blake
(CO) Alumni, serving as the Polemarch from 1978-1981. He served as Chair of the Board of Directors of Kappa Housing Inc. for over 20 years and one of his proudest moments was when the pioneering Kappa Tower I, the first senior citizen housing building owned by a graduate chapter of a Black greek organization in the US was dedicated in December of 1984. He was also very active on the Denver (CO) Alumni Scholarship Foundation Board and served as Treasurer of the Scholarship Foundation for many years. The Foun- dation has donated over $1.4 million in scholarships since 1973 to high achiev- ing young men matriculating to college, and he has over 48 years of dedicated service to Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity. Veasey was active in the Middle West- ern Province where he would donate his service to audit the Middle Western Region Financial Records on the Audit Committee. Veasey was very active in the com- munity and strived to make life better for others. He was an active Board member of the Urban League of Metropolitan Denver from 1995-1999, a Board mem- ber of the Five Points Business Associa- tion from 2002-2005, and was Treasurer and Chairman of the Minoru Yasui Community Volunteer Awards Commit- tee from 2010-2011. Brother Columbus Veasey, Jr. was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Leon Thomas, and his sister Ernestine Smith. He leaves to cherish his memory, his loving wife of 65 years, the former Joan Marie Ingram; son Byron (Karen) Veasey; his daughter Janet (Herve`) Fleurant, Sahai Fleurant, David (Halle) Fleurant; sister Mary Wilson; brother Maurice Thomas; godson John Wesley James, III, and many loving nieces and nephews, extended family and dear friends. Submitted by John Coleman
Colum- bus Veasey, Jr. entered the Chapter Invisible on August 18, 2021, at the age of 85. Columbus Veasey. Jr., known
by his family as “Chris,” was born in Memphis, TN on August 22, 1935, to his father, Columbus Veasey. Sr. and his mother, Grace Jackson. Veasey attended Hamilton High School in Memphis, TN. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business ad- ministration from Syracuse University, an MBA from the University of Dayton, an M.A. degree in public administra- tion, and a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Denver. Veasey entered the United States Air Force in 1955, where he served faithfully for twenty years and retired in 1975 at the rank of Major. After liv- ing in Colorado Springs, CO for three years, he and his family to Denver, CO in 1976, where he spent most of his life. He served as the Director of Finance for Denver Public Library, the Director of Finance for the City and County of Denver (Mayoral Appoin- tee), the Manager of the Denver De- partment of Human Services (Mayoral Appointee), and as the Manager of the Denver Department of Environmen- tal Health (Mayoral Appointee). He retired in 2004 and Columbus Veasey Jr. was a 1973 initiate of the Colorado Springs (CO) Alumni Chapter. A Life Member, Veasey was very active with the Denver
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