TO THE CHAPTER INVISIBLE
Nikki Harrell, Ensign Destiny Harrell, and Summer Fleming; brother, Verlee Fort (Gwen); and a host of other rela- tives and friends.
football, served as secretary of the Judi- cial Cabinet was a member of Student Faculty Council, and Boosters Club. He was Chapter Polemarch of Alpha Delta of Kappa Alpha Psi ® for two years. In 1950 he earned a B.S. degree in physical education and earned a master’s degree in education and health in 1951 from Indiana University-Bloomington. Post-graduation, Franklin went back to work at Franklin Funeral Home while applying for jobs in the Chattanooga school system. He held positions of coach and teacher at Orchard Knob Junior High School prior to his selection as the head of the physical education program for Black secondary schools of the city. In 1960, he was named prin- cipal of W.J. Davenport School. He became principal of Alton Park Junior High School in 1961 where he remained until 1971. In 1971, Franklin successfully ran for political office winning office of Com- missioner of Education and Health which he held for 20 years. He served his hometown of Chattanooga as vice- mayor for four of five-year terms. He also served as chairman of the City School Board and in 1981, served as president of the Tennessee School Boards Association. Franklin was the recipient of numerous awards and honors for his educational and civic involvement. In 1997, the Hamilton County School Board voted to rename Alton Park Middle School in his honor. However, in 2005 the John P. Franklin Middle School was closed, and his school name was never restored. Kappa Foundation's Pioneer Leaders Award in 2011 and the Distinguished Service Award from the Downtown Chattanooga Kiwanis Club in 2015. In 2014, the Chattanooga History Center's awarded Franklin with its ninth annual History Makers Award. Brother John P. Franklin is preceded in death by his parents and his wife, Eva James Mann Franklin. He is survived by son James P. Franklin, Jr. (Beta Chi 1979) and Cheryl Franklin (Charles Jr) Key; four grandchildren and one great
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Fort 1936–2018 U.S. Army
Lieutenant Colo- nel (LTC) Rich- ard Fort, Retired (Fort Lee (NJ) AL 1981) entered the Chapter Invis- ible on Thursday, January 31, 2019 at the age of 82
John P. Franklin, Sr. 1922-2018 Chattanooga Community Leader, Fu- neral Home Owner, Educator
A longtime educa- tor, principal and city school board member, John P. Franklin, Sr. (Alpha Delta 1947) made his- tory in 1971 when elected as the
at McGuire Veterans Medical Center, Richmond, VA. He was a Life Member of Kappa Alpha Psi. On November 26, 1936, Richard Fort was born in Bradenton, FL, to the late Jack Sigsby Fort and Virginia Baker Fort. He was a graduate of Lincoln Memo- rial High School in Palmetto, FL. Upon graduating high school, he earned a full scholarship to Florida A & M Univer- sity in Tallahassee, FL. After graduat- ing college, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program at Florida A & M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. He entered the U.S. Army in 1960, as a student officer in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps Officer Basic Course at Fort Lee, VA. The military took Fort to many places. He was stationed at Fort Huachuca, AZ, Fort Hood, TX and Fort Monroe, VA. He served two tours in Vietnam, two tours in Germany, one tour in Korea and three tours at Fort Lee, VA. He served more than 20 years of honorable active Army military service as a Commissioned Officer in the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps. His military medals and awards include: The Bronze Star Medal, The Meritorious Service Medal, The Army Commendation Medal and many others. LTC (ret.) Richard Fort is survived by devoted wife of 52 years, Catherine Fort; daughters, Kim Harrell, Senta Hanson (Richard), LaKay Rushing (Glenn), and Kerstin Jones (Eric); seven grandchil- dren; Cadet Richard Hanson; Noah Fort; Ciara and Shelby Hanson; CPT
only African American to be elected in a citywide vote to the old Chattanooga, TN City Commission. Former Chatta- nooga mayor Ron Littlefield told a local TV station, Brother John P. Franklin, Sr. entered the Chapter Invisible on June 21, 2018 at the age of 96. John P. Franklin was born on April 26, 1922, the youngest of five children of G.W. and Rosalie Franklin. His father was Chattanooga’s first African Ameri- can funeral home owner and died when young Franklin was six years old. Frank- lin grew up in the Fort Wood neighbor- hood of Chattanooga and attended East Fifth Street School and later, Howard High School. After graduating from high school, he traveled to Tuskegee, AL to attend historic Tuskegee Institute (now University). He left college in 1942 to join the United States Army. He served as a typist in an artillery unit in the Pacific Theater during World War II and was Honorably Discharged in 1946. He returned to his hometown of Chat- tanooga, working briefly at his father’s funeral home, Franklin Funeral Home, prior to returning to college on the G.I. Bill. Instead of returning to Tuskegee, Franklin chose Fisk University in Nash- ville, TN to complete his undergraduate education. While at Fisk, he played
184 | 84 TH GRAND CHAPTER MEETING ISSUE THE JOURNAL
Publishing achievement for 105 years
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker