Margaret C. Osei

MARGARET C. OSEI, a loving and beloved woman departed this life to go to her heavenly home on March 10, 2023. Margaret was born in Richmond, Virginia on June 26, 1944. She was the daughter of the Reverend Lessie Cooper, Sr. and Elizabeth Thomas Cooper.

Margaret was educated in Richmond Public Schools and graduated Maggie Walker High School in 1962. She left Richmond and moved to Washington D.C. where she worked with incarcerated youth and used her personal time to volunteer in community programs to help young people find employment. Margaret returned to Virginia, enrolled in Virginia State University, and graduated in 1971 earning a baccalaureate degree.

Margaret joined Union Baptist Church in the early 1970’s and in the 1980’s, began serving as the church parliamentarian, a position she held for more than 30 years. She loved singing and was a member of several church choirs and community volunteer choirs including, the City Wide Revival Choir and the Henrico Volunteer Choir. She was very active in church and over her 50 years of membership, Margaret participated in a host of activities, initiatives, and programs. She was a founding member of the “birthday” program, chaired the finance committee, and introduced the idea for a “wall of praise.”

Throughout her life, Margaret used her human resources knowledge to help people find and secure employment. From the 1970s to retirement and after, Margaret was known for helping people get –“good paying jobs” as she would say. Her first personnel job was as the ManPower Coordinator for the City of Richmond. Her passion for human resources, led to her work with the Richmond’s Associate Blacks in Personnel organization; she was one of the founding members. Margaret worked in personnel for 30+ years.

In 1990, she joined the Iota Sigma Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Her membership brought her great joy, and she was an active soror serving as a Boule delegate, record keeper, and the International Chairman on Affirmative Action. Margaret also served as the Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority representative on the Richmond Panhellenic Council.

Margaret was truly a social and community activist. She was a member of the Richmond Urban League for 25 years. She served as recording secretary and chaired the Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Day Program. She was President of the Southside Civic League and a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Margaret was a charter member of nine women establishing in February 2005 the Virginia Crowns, an individual chapter of The Red Hat Society.

In addition to her parents, she was predeceased by her sister and two brothers.

Margaret leaves with cherished and loving memories, her beloved children; grandchildren; one brother; one niece and four nephews; a host of great-nephews and nieces; cousins, other relatives, and an extended Ghanaian family; her closest and dearest friends; sorority sisters and many others whose lives she touched.