Memorial for Cecelia Viola Simolton Conner
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- Legacies Classification
- Memorial Type
- Memorial Context
- Memorialized Subject
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- Physical Description
- Memorial Inscription
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Memorial Artwork
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Sculptural Memorial
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Conner, Cecelia Viola Simolton
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Memorial for Cecelia Viola Simolton Conner
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Cecelia Viola Simolton Conner, a longtime employee of Davidson College and active community member died on February 26, 2017, at age 100. Born on September 26, 1916, Cecelia spent much of her life surrounded by family and very involved with the vibrant Black community of the Reeves Temple African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Zion Church in Davidson. For over forty years, she worked at Davidson College in various roles in President Walter Lingle’s family household, the laundry service, and ETC eating house.
The W.H. Bryant, A.E. Grier and Sons Funeral Home of Mooresville, NC served the Conner family throughout the funeral process. Her homegoing services were conducted on March 4, 2017 at Torrence Chapel AME Zion Church in Cornelius, a larger venue than her home church, to accommodate for the numerous attendees. She is buried in the Christian Aid Society Cemetery on Davidson’s campus, along with many other former Black employees. Friends and family paid for Cecelia’s memorial, and it was installed in 2017. It is located directly next to her daughter’s grave, Jacquelyn Simolton Grier, who passed in 1997. Her memorial is composed of a grey stone base, a large stone vase, and a headstone. The vase is filled with flowers, and the space between Cecelia and her daughter’s grave is adorned with an elevated rock with a loving inscription. Her family regularly visits and decorates the gravesite, memorializing her legacy.
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Cecelia Viola Simolton Conner's grave, likely granite or marble, consists of a rectangular base, a headstone, and a stone vase. The headstone, a three-dimensional rectangle with a slightly curved top and flat front, bears the inscription: "Forever in our hearts Cecelia V Conner", above a pictorial inscription of prayer hands emerging from a bible, holding flowers. Her birth and death dates flank the pictorial inscription. Beside the headstone is a stone vase filled with flowers. The grave measures 25 inches in width, 15 inches in height, with a base width of 10 inches. There is no significant landscaping. It is located directly to the right of her daughter, Jacquelyn Simolton Grier’s grave, who passed in 1997. Additionally, between Cecelia and Jacquelyn’s grave, there is an elevated engraved rock displaying the message: “Mom you held me in your arms, I hold you in my heart.” These decorations signify that the grave is frequently adorned and visited by family.
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“Forever in our Hearts Cecelia V Conner”
“Sept 26 1916” “Feb 26 2017”
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2017
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Friends and Family
Position: 460 (15 views)