TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Ocie Cleveland Pleasant Jr. 1942–2018 Elder Watson Diggs Awardee, Past Province Polemarch, Memphis Leader
By Aaron Williams
in Montgomery, AL to the late Ocie Cleve- land Pleasant Sr. and Delilah (nee Mitchell) Pleasant. Known to his friends and fam- ily as "O.C.", he was the second of four children and attended schools in Mobile and Birmingham, AL schools graduat- ing high school cum laude in 1959. In 1962, Brother Pleas- ant graduated cum laude from Alabama State University with a B.S. degree in secondary education
Alumni Chapter Keeper of Exchequer and Board of Director, polemarch of the Memphis (TN) Alumni Chapter, senior Vice Polemarch of the South Central Province, Grand Chapter delegate, member of the Grand Chapter Nominating Committee and a longtime member of the fraternity’s strategic plan- ning committee. In 1986, 25 th Grand Polemarch Randall C. Bacon appointed Pleasant as the 20 th Polemarch of the South Central Province which he led until 1990. In 2013, the fraternity bestowed to Pleasant at the 81 st Grand Chapter Meeting the second highest award, the Elder Watson Diggs Award. Outside of the fraternity, Brother Pleas- ant was a community leader for years in the city of Memphis and Shelby County. He served for 30 years on the Shelby County Election Commission including 24 years as commission chairman. He served as chairman of the Board of Di- rectors for Family Home Health Agency, the Memphis Health Center, and the Orange Mound Development Corpora- tion respectively. A Life Member of the N.A.A.C.P. and a member of the Executive Board of the Memphis branch of N.A.A.C.P., Brother Pleasant also held memberships with St. John Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. He was member of the Board of Directors for St. Peter's Villa Nursing Home, Catholic Diocese of Memphis and Board of Trustee member of Christian Brothers University. Brother Pleasant was preceded in death by his parents, and daughter Chandra. He is survived by his wife and Silhouette of 53 years Barbara (nee King) Pleasant, son Darryl (Kappa Beta 1985), grandson Corey Pleasant, siblings Steven (Tutka) Pleasant, Jesse (Omer) Youngblood, and Robert Pleasant and host of close rela- tives, friends and colleagues.
T he first sentence in the Fall 2013 Kappa Alpha Psi ® Journal bio which showcased his des- ignation as the 99 th honoree of the Elder Watson Diggs Award described Ocie C. Pleasant Jr as “…a renowned and stalwart member of the fraternity, having played important roles at Kappa Alpha Psi ® at the local and province lev- els. In those capacities, he earned the enthusiastic support and admiration of the brothers in this region and beyond.” A beloved figure in the South Central Province and a longtime civic leader in Memphis, TN, Past Province Polemarch and Elder Watson Diggs Awardee Brother Pleasant entered the Chapter Invisible on Sunday, December 9, 2018 at the age of 76. Shelby County Elec- tion Commission Chairman Robert My- ers made the following statement after the news of Brother Pleasant’s passing, “The death of O.C. Pleasant Jr. is one that is felt acutely by all the current and past members. His longstanding service to the voters of Shelby County is a shin- ing beacon of civic duty.” Brother Pleasant was born July 2, 1942
with concentrations in political science and mathematics. He earned a M.S. degree from the University of Memphis in 1968 and pursued graduate studies at Indiana University, University of Min- nesota, University of Wisconsin, and the University of Memphis. Pleasant started professionally as a mathematics teacher in Alabama prior to moving to Memphis to work for Kim- berly-Clark Corporation as an Employee Relations Counselor and Employee Services Supervisor. He taught at State Technical Institute at Memphis (now known as Southwest Technical Com- munity College). Pleasant spent the majority of his professional career in the insurance and financial services industry including owned and operated the O.C. Pleasant Insurance Agency, representing Nationwide Insurance Companies. A 1960 initiate of the Alabama State Chapter, the Beta Zeta of Kappa Alpha Psi ® and a Life Member, Pleasant built an extensive fraternal resume and record of service to the fraternity including holding positions of Beta Zeta Chapter Keeper of Records, Memphis (TN)
144 | THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for 105 years
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