Note: Request for additional entries for this this page. Please send biographies and photos to ysbahai@gmail.com.
Remembering the Trailblazing Life of Dr. Helen Elsie Austin, Knight of Baha’u’llah, (1908-2004) Video Elsie Austin was a pioneer civil-rights activitists. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Law and the first to be appointed assistant attorney-general of the State of Ohio. The service rendered to humanity by Dr. Austin was so distinguished that…the Universal House of Justice advised the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States to hold memorial gatherings throughout the Baha’i community in the United States and in the Baha’i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Dr. Helen Elsie Austin: A Life of Faith, Protest & Service – video
Dorothy Beecher Baker (1898-1954) appointed as a Hand of the Cause in 1954. Hands of the Cause were a select group of Bahá’ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá’í Faith. Hands of the Cause are considered to have achieved a distinguished rank in service to the Faith.
Ghamar Behjati (1921-2019) Lived in Sylvania and Yellow Springs, Ohio. Born in Tuyserkan, Iran. In addition to Farsi, she was a self-taught speaker of Hebrew, English and Arabic. An avid reader, she memorized and recited volumes worth of poems and prayers. [Buried in the new section of Glen Forest Cemetery in Yellow Springs, Ohio.]
Dr. Suheil Badi’ Bushrui, (1929-2015) Yellow Springs resident, distinguished scholar and tireless champion of the cause of peace, passed away on Sept. 2 at the age of 85…Author: Desert Songs of the Night: 1500 Years of Arab Literature (2015), Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet, The Spiritual Heritage of the Human Race: An Introduction to the World’s Religions…Professor Bushrui became the first incumbent of the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland in 1992, a position he held until his retirement from the post in 2005 and from which he sponsored events and publications that advocated alternatives to the violent resolution of conflict, global education and spiritual solutions for otherwise intractable social ills. [Buried in the new section of Glen Forest Cemetery in Yellow Springs, Ohio.] A Memorial and Celebration Honoring the Life and Career of Professor Suheil Badi’ Bushrui (1929-2015). November 18, 2015 at the University of Maryland’s Memorial Chapel.
Dr. Genevieve Lenore Coy (1886-1963), First Baha’i in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Coy served as the second director of the Tarbiyat School for girls in Tihran; “Fortitude, patience, detachment and integrity are the qualities that best describe the life and service of this devoted, highly competent and faithful maidservant of Baha’u’llah.” (Borrah Kavelin)
Shelly Cook (1943-2004) an innovative educator and energetic Baha’i pioneer for over 30 years from Yellow Springs, Ohio, to Appalachia Ohio, Transkei region of South Africa to Stutterheim, South Africa.
Olivia Kelsey, Knight of Baha’u’llah, (1889-1981) a Shakespearean actress, writer, Baha’i Answers 1947, animal rights activist. [Buried in the Friends cemetery just south of Yellow Springs on Rt.68.]
Sarah Elizabeth Martin Eason Pereira Born December 12, 1909 Cleveland, Ohio – Died April 5, 1995 Matthews, N.C., Served on the US National Spiritual Assembly from 1961 – 1973. Served as a Counsellor for North America from 1973 – 1980 and the Americas, 1980 – 1985.
Dr. Cora Tula Watters (1932 – 2011) esteemed educator, musician and mother of six children.
Bransford “Brande” Holloway Watson February 24, 1933 — January 11, 2025 Dayton, Ohio – He was the son of the Professor Andrew P. and Lena Watson. His parents inspired and encouraged him to accomplish his goals and pursue his dreams. Brande earned his MBA from the University of Texas & his Bachelor’s degrees from Texas College, University of Pittsburgh and University of Oklahoma. He had a long career in education, teaching on both high school and collegiate levels. Brande was a pioneer for the Healing Racism Dialogue program and extended it to communities around the country. He also promoted Americans All, a history series that illustrated the oneness of the human family. He coached the Wiley College debate team in Marshall, Texas (the movie, ‘The Debaters’ with Denzel Washington, was about the earlier years of the famous Wiley College debate team, in which his father Professor Andrew P. Watson, Sr. was involved). Brande was a Professor at Central State University and also taught French in the Dayton Public Schools. He served his community in a number of ways by serving on the Regional Board of the National Conference of Christians and Jews, by being an Industrial Consultant for the Texas Commission on Alcoholism and Community Relations, and by serving as an Assistant at the U.S. Department of Justice, during school integration in Texas to name a few. He also served as Dean of the Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute in South Carolina and was a member of the Baha’i National Teaching Committee. Brande worked as a District Patrol Officer in Houston, Texas. He was very well travelled and completed a lecture tour in Siberian Russia, was a participant in the Second Baha’i World Congress and took several Baha’i pilgrimages to Haifa, Israel. He was once Ebony Magazine’s Most Eligible Bachelor. Brande was a Double Sprint Champion in the NAIA competition, Debate Team and Track Team Captain at Texas College. Brande was also a private pilot, theater actor, motorcyclist, lecturer, singer and writer who enjoyed classical music. Brande most recently finished and published a book titled “The Declaration of Interdependence” which can be ordered online. He was passionately involved in his Baha’i Faith community. Brande advocated and worked to promote the oneness of humanity and race unity until the end. He touched many lives and will be dearly missed by family and friends all over the world. Brande is survived by his Daughter, Brenda Lemon Oliver; Granddaughters, Eleanor V. Oliver, and Cicely E. Oliver; and Grandsons, Daniel N. Oliver, and Gerald Lee Oliver II, 12 great-children, numerous nieces and nephews and friends around the world. He is preceded in death by his parents, brothers Andrew and Claude, and wife, Evelyn L. Watson.