Leomia Peebles Clemons

Obituary For Leomia Peebles Clemons

The Life and Legacy of Gladys “Leomia” Peebles Clemons. Leomia, as she preferred to be called was born December 29, 1926, to Ruben and Estelle Peebles in Murfreesboro, North Carolina. When Leomia was five years old, Leomia’s mother Estelle died. Her father Ruben remarried and over time the sibling group grew to a total of 14 arranging in birth order: Roberta, Ruby Mae, Helen Marie, John Henry, Leomia, Geraldine, Evelyn, Jean Ruth, Annette, Francis and Thomas aka “Bro.” The following siblings were born to the Peebles family but died in childhood. These were twins Moretta and Loretta and a son Reuben Webster. Like many African American families in the south, the Peebles family were no stranger to farming. Leomia recalled the hot days of picking cotton on her grandfather, Scippi Peebles’ 100-acre farm in Hertford County NC. Today, most of the land remain among the descendants of the Peebles family. Her fondest memories of him were evenings spent on the porch soaking up the memoirs of his past. She recalled her grandfather having taught her to play a few tunes on the pipe organ. Although slavery was abolished when Scippi was nine years old, he like many other African Americans in that region of North Carolina were born free. History records that Blacks in the Ahoskie area were a “pioneering community and were self-sufficient, although economically strained” by the times. Mrs. Leomia Clemons grew up in a tight knit, “caring community that retained its self-determination in spite of the economic hardship” laid upon them by Jim Crow laws. In spite of the turmoil faced by many Blacks during segregation, the Peebles family believed in hard work and education. Though separate and unequal, many Black schools were built constructed through the efforts of community fund raising and the Roswald Foundation throughout the south in the late 1800’s. Research at Fisk University indicate that over 700 schools were built to support Black students in North Carolina alone. It is believed that Leomia attended such a school at Vaughtown elementary which sat at the end of the road where related family groups of Lassiters, Porters, Vaughans, Peebles , Parkers and Howards resided. On the many family reunion visits to Vaughntown Road which sat outside of Murfreesboro NC, Leomia drew our attention to the fallen remains of the school that she once attended as a child. You could not ignore the history engraved in the tone of her voice when looking at the abandoned structure. You could sense the echoes of Black children having played among the now decaying swing sets that sat adjacent to the structure. Its historical significance bore witness in her voice. Her sigh captured the deprived innocence of so many generations having suffered the reality of Brown vs the Board of Education and the harsh realities of a “dream deferred.” When it was time to enter high school, Leomia and her siblings would walk the half mile dirt road from the back of the property to the bus stop to be bussed to Winton, NC to attend because they were not allowed to attend the local White high school. In high school Leomia developed a love of Botany. Regardless of the fact that an eleventh-grade education was considered sufficient at that time, she graduated from Calvin S. Brown High School in 1945. Her passion for Botany continued throughout her life and was evident by anyone who visited or happened to pass by her home on Eric Street and later Pinebark Road in Portsmouth, VA. You could not miss the two tall Palm trees or lush array of beautiful plants she cultivated until her later years. While raising her children, Leomia worked as a domestic and later found what she called “a real job” working at the Christmas tree and ornament place in the Port Norfolk area. Later she worked for Manning Nursing Home in Portsmouth where she faithfully served for seven years. She was a modest woman but was known for her vanity license plate “RUFDAY.” She turned that ‘rufday” into a lottery win in the 1990s. Being the sensible woman she was, she and her husband Levi decided to move from the home on Eric Street which he and his brothers had built (1950’s) and “moving on up” purchased the home on Pinebark Road in Portsmouth with the winnings. There she resided until her health required additional care in late 2020 at which time she went to live with her daughter and son-in-law, Sandra and Trevor in Richmond, VA. Sandra and Trevor waited on her hand and foot and set up a care team to support Leomia’s need. Sandra shared that “Mama thinks she is at a hotel. A celebration of her life will be held on Saturday, July 23, 2022 at 11am in Zion Community Church, 300 Broad St., Portsmouth. Internment will be held at Meadow Memorial Gardens, Suffolk immediately following the service.