Esther Gatica 

Ecclesia Christian Fellowship Church hosted a Celebration of Life Ceremony for the incomparable Deacon Emeritus Marion Black Jr.

Black was born September 23, 1937, in a small farming town in Kentucky to Marion David and Geneva Lenora Black. He attended what was then Kentucky State College, now Kentucky State University, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commercial teachers education.

After graduation, Black worked as an accountant in Louisville before joining the United States Air Force in 1959. As an airman he traveled all over the world, from Frankfurt, Germany to Libya, in North Africa, as well as within the United States including places like  Columbus, Ohio, Las Vegas, Nevada, Illinois, Missouri, Anchorage, Alaska and finally to Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, where he retired in 1983, after 23 years of service.  

Black married Charlotte Edward on January 30th 1960, and to that union was born two children: Cynthia Elaine and William David. After moving to San Bernardino he became  active in the Inland Empire community, constantly being recognized for his unique life of boundless  service. 

After retiring from the military he worked for the Vernon Company as a salesman and was a board member of the YMCA of San Bernardino and the San Bernardino Area Chamber of Commerce where he was elected Ambassador three times. He was also actively involved in the Black Culture Foundation and was awarded the Black Rose Award for his commitment  to service.

Black was also a civil service commissioner for the County of  San Bernardino from 1999 to

2019 where he served as vice chairman.  In addition, he was cited as one of the League of Women Voters’ citizens of  achievement and was a lifetime member of the National Council of Negro Women, one of the only men in that organization. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Inc. And was a lifetime member of the NAACP.

An active blood donor, Black’s cumulative 43 gallons of blood he generously donated to the former Blood Bank of San Bernardino-Riverside, earned the honor of his smiling image being displayed on the side of the blood bank’s van for all to see. 

In addition to his acknowledged community involvement, Black’s greatest passion was to serve at church, having been saved at an early age he saw his acts of service as the best way to minister God’s love to his family, friends and community. He was  a member of the executive board of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship, and served in several ministries from deacon to security guard to usher and more. It was because of this history of service that he received the distinguished Taft T. Newman Outstanding Service Award. 

During Black’s celebration of life service his family was presented with  a certificate of special recognition by the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. 

Marion Black Jr. is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as other family members, family and friends. He transitioned on March 21st, 2024 and his Celebration of Life was held April 9th, 2024. The service celebrating his life can be viewed here: Celebration of Life | Marion Black Jr.

Esther Gatica is a Honduran bilingual writer, playwright, actress, director, and translator. She’s a graduate of Teatro Prometeo from Miami Dade College. She’s also obtained a BFA from Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She’s taught and performed with/at: Miami Hispanic International Theatre Festival, Syracuse Stage, the Gluck Foundation, and Fort Worth Fringe. Esther is a recent graduate from the University of California, Riverside with an MFA in writing for the performing arts. She is a line producer for Lime Arts Productions and part of the Playground LA writers pool. She is also a part of the Black Voice News team. Follow her work on IG@esteyg.