Mary Barker Cora

Mary “Grandy” Barker Cora passed peacefully on January 3, 2015, in her home in Laurel, Maryland. She was a prolific writer, dynamic storyteller, artist, music-lover, counselor, educator, activist and a dearly loved matriarch. She deeply adored her children and grandchildren, and cared for all those she adopted as kin.

The youngest of 10 children, Mary was born on September 5, 1925, to James Barker and Mary Jasper in Somerset, Kentucky. She spent her early childhood in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Mary attended Howard University, where she obtained her Bachelor in Arts and Masters in Social Work. At her beloved alma mater, she also became a psychiatric social worker and dedicated member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. An avid learner, she continued her post-graduate studies in Educational Administration at New York University, and conducted cultural research in West Africa, South America, the Caribbean Islands and Mexico.

In 1951, she married her college sweetheart, Alberto Cora. The two lived in Cleveland and Philadelphia before settling in Puerto Rico, where they raised their two daughters and Mary learned Spanish, which she charmingly spoke with an American Southern accent. She was an instructor and counselor at Consuelo Escalona, an elementary school in Puerto Rico, the University of Puerto Rico, and for the Department of Education Teacher Training and Teacher Corps Programs.

After living in Puerto Rico for nearly 20 years, she moved to Washington, DC, where she worked for the Head Start Program at the United Planning Organization.  She subsequently moved to Pasadena, California, serving as an Associate Professor and Counselor at the Los Angeles Trade Technical College. She loved art pieces, antique furniture, jewelry and collectibles, and for a brief period ran her own consignment shop.

Upon retirement, she became a professional storyteller with the Washington Performing Arts Society. She went on to be known as the “Storyteller Extraordinaire,” weaving bilingual multicultural fables for young audiences in Nevada, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC and Pennsylvania. In 1997, she was the Mistress of Ceremonies for 2,000 children at the Arts Are Magic Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. She also volunteered countless hours storytelling for sick children at Children’s National Medical Center.

Even in her later years, she was forever impacted by the pervasive racism she witnessed as a child of the segregated South. She was a lifelong champion of equality and human rights, and supported various political and civil rights organizations including the Southern Poverty Law Center. She proudly hosted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in her home during his visit to Puerto Rico, and most recently delighted in meeting President Barack Obama.

She is survived by her two daughters, Maria Cora and Denice-Cora Bramble, her grandchildren, Elisa Eberhardt, Manuel Bramble and Lloyd Joseph Bramble, her brother, Earl Barker, her son-in-law Lloyd, her daughter-in-law Ana, her great-son-in-law Robert, her nieces and nephews (Ivadnia, Marina, Estella, Jose, Richard and Eric), her great-nephews (Michael, Eddie, Alejandro and Laureano), her great-nieces (Ileana, Miranda and Andrea Victoria), her great-great-niece (Dakota) and her great-great-nephew (Jordan). She will be greatly missed by her family, and a multitude of friends and loved ones.