Marion Ellerbee, activist for the African-American rights, died Feb. 28. She was 95.
Ellerbee suffered discrimination herself, but “she just went right on, with her head held high,” said her granddaughter Veronica Ellerbee.
“She was gracious and seasoned with salt,” said Veronica Ellerbee. “It was in her heart to help people.”
Marion Ellerbee was a regional director of the National Council of Negro Women and belonged to the NAACP and the Denver Urban League.
She worked for fair housing, workplace equality and women’s rights.
She was an ally of Rachel Noel in efforts to integrate Denver schools and was often a liaison between her church and local political leaders. She joined other African-Americans to fight a proposed shopping center on the land that is now City Park Golf Course.
Ellerbee was honored by then-Mayor John Hickenlooper on the 150th anniversary of Denver as one of “150 Unsung Heroes.”
“She just wanted everyone treated fairly and believed everyone was entitled to have the same in life,” said her grandson Julius Foster.
Marion Veronica Murray was born in St. Stephens, S.C., on Aug. 26, 1915, one of eight children.
The family moved to Sumter, S.C., when she was a child, and Murray’s talents at organizing showed early, her family said.
She attended Morris College in Sumter and while there met Julius B. Ellerbee Jr. When he died in 1994, they had been married 52 years. She taught school in South Carolina while her husband traveled with the Cab Calloway Band.
The Ellerbee family moved to Cheyenne, where Marion Ellerbee got a job as a cashier in a restaurant at the main train station. She was the first African- American to have the job.
In 1945, the family moved to Denver and became members of Zion Baptist Church. Marion Ellerbee was director of several choirs and worked countless hours for the church, her family said.
In addition to her granddaughter and grandson, Marion Ellerbee is survived by six other grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. She also is survived by two sisters, Rose Martin of Denver and Bertha Elfalan of Renton, Wash. Her two sons died of heart problems. Julius Ellerbee III died in 2008, and Harold Dwayne Ellerbee died last year.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
