By Heather Michon
Correspondent
Family, friends, former students, faith leaders and public officials assembled at the Fluvanna County High School auditorium on Sunday afternoon (Nov. 16) to celebrate the life and legacy of Mozell H. Booker.
Booker, who died on Sept. 30 at the age of 83, was remembered as a steady, compassionate leader who broke barriers as the first woman to chair the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors and as one of the earliest Black supervisors elected in the county.
Speakers across the two-hour ceremony described her as a mentor, educator, advocate and the heart of her community — “our lady of devotion,” as Sunday School Union president Teresa Baskfield called her.
From the opening prayer to the final benediction, speakers returned again and again to her core beliefs: faith, education, and civic engagement.
“From our earliest days together, Mozell paired herself with a sense of purpose, faith, and determination that only grew stronger with time,” said her longtime friend Bertha Armstrong.
Armstrong said she would cherish the memories of the two of them “sitting shoulder to shoulder at local board meetings, strategizing, doing community gatherings, and standing up for services and policy changes,” she said. “Most precious of all were the quiet conversations, those long talks filled with encouragement, reflection, dreams, and the occasional gentle challenges.”
A lifelong educator, Booker spent more than 30 years in public schools in Fluvanna and Albemarle as a teacher, special education administrator and principal.
Her service extended far beyond education. During her 16 years on the Board of Supervisors, Booker championed school funding, equity, senior services, local history, and voting access.
“I really hope that each of you took a moment to look around as you walked into Fluvanna County High School, took a look at the sky, took a look at our campus, took a look at our grounds,” said FCPS Executive Director Donald Stribling. “Mrs. Mozell Booker was instrumental in making this all happen.”
Stribling said Booker was a mentor whose influence extended well beyond school walls. “She showed us what it means to give without expectation, advocating for those in need, or simply showing up with a listening ear and a very, very generous heart. She believed that every student had a spark waiting to be discovered.”
“Each of us, through our relationship with her, carries a piece of Ms. Booker’s legacy in our hearts…but more importantly, in our actions. And in that way, her story continues,” he said.
Marvin Moss, president emeritus of the Fluvanna County Historical Society, spoke of his relationship with Booker and her husband, Jerome, which formed not long after he moved to the area in the 1990s.
He noted that the Bookers had lived all over the world during Jerome’s years in the Air Force, “but after he retired, they did something remarkable: they returned to Fluvanna County.”
They made a lasting mark on the county, broadening its understanding of its own history and pushing it toward progress. “She was part of history. She and Jerome made history,” he said.
It was a day filled with memories and laughter. Valarie Thomas, who first met Mrs. Booker as a young student, sang in tribute to the woman who had so often been known to break into song.
Booker’s daughter, Kimberley Hundley, thanked the audience for remembering her mother and said the family plans to hold a public memorial in the spring.
In her final days, Booker had been adamant that she didn’t want a funeral or memorial — “Let my work speak for me,” she said.
But Hundley said this was going to be the one “head-butt” she ever won with her mother.
In his closing remarks, Dr. Maurice Carter noted that the name “Mozell” was derived from the Hebrew word for “Moses.”
“She is not dead. She is alive,” he said. “Because her energy flows within the course of her names.”
He said she would appreciate the day’s celebration, “but I believe she would be more interested in someone taking up the cause.”
“Mozell is saying, will you now take up the cause?” said Carter. “What can you do to further your political, spiritual, to become an activist, to make somebody’s life better?”
