![]() ![]() Topsy-Elvord’s refrigerator, meanwhile, is filled with magnets of all kinds and drawings by her grandchildren. The Long Beach alumnae chapter has never had, and will never have, a more loyal and devoted sorority sister.” “She made up her mind to do it and never looked back. “When she found out that I was a member, she hounded me about joining and wondered if it was too late for her,” Venable added. ![]() “She never relinquished her dream to become a Delta. “She had initially pledged while in college but was forced to drop out when her mother became ill and she was called home,” Venable said last week. Phyllis Venable, president of Sister Cities of Long Beach and CEO of Silhouette Consulting Group, said Topsy-Elvord was initiated into the sorority when she was on the City Council in 2001. One of her favorites was a gold-colored elephant given to her as a gift from Delta Sigma Theta, a sorority comprised primarily of Black women dealing with community issues. An elephant with its trunk in the air is a sign of good luck and good fortune. Topsy-Elvord also had a collection of elephants in her house. Topsy-Elvord said she wanted to live a life like her friend. “I asked her why and she said, ‘Because you’ve been so kind to me, and you always take time to listen to me. “Indira gave me a dozen roses, my favorite flower,” Topsy-Elvord told me. Tucker had chronic pain and one day, she did what her longtime friend called “a beautiful thing.” The photos of Tucker reminded me of a conversation I had with Topsy-Elvord after the former died in 2012. Tucker lived only two houses away from Topsy-Elvord in Bixby Knolls. ![]() There are photos of the late Indira Tucker, who created and developed the African American Resource Center at the Burnett Library with Topsy-Elvord. The blanket’s title is, “From Slavery to the White House, a Historical Journey.” A large blanket covering the sofa has a drawing of Obama with other Black civil rights leaders: Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. There are many photos and mementos of former President Barack Obama, who Topsy-Elvord met when Obama was a U.S. ![]()
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