Patricia Lamar, who has died at age 86, was Queen Mother of the Saginaw African Cultural Festival and prominent in the local faith community.
Festival President Ralph Martin said organizers always relied on support from the woman known across town as “Mother Lamar” even prior to her role at summer’s annual celebration, now entering its 56th year.
“She was someone who would inspire you, make you feel better than before she entered the room,” Martin said. “She’s with the ancestors now, I really believe that.”
Among her children is City Councilwoman Monique Lamar Silvia. Her somber mood at Monday’s meeting reflected the family’s burdens of recent months.
Another child, Pamela Jordan, in 2004 passed away young at age 52 after founding and overseeing New Alternatives Youth Center, which was housed in a portion of the Wolverine Baptist facility on Hoyt Street across from Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital.
The first-year county District Court magistrate, Janey Lamar, is a grandchild born to Pam Jordan.
Zeff Lamar, Mother Lamar’s husband, predeceased her.
Her City of Saginaw career employment was as an environmental and appearance code officer, once featured for publicity in front of an abandoned building, writing out a penalty assessment. This was one of the few times she donned jeans rather than her traditional motherland apparel.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
