Reflections of Life<\/strong><\/p>\nAugustus Theodore Capers was born on September 30, 1918 in Charleston, SC, the son of Wade and Anna Morris Simmons. When he was a young child, his mother died and he was raised by his great aunt, Florence Capers, and her husband. They moved to Paterson, NJ with Augustus at the age of 5 years. On Thursday, August 24, 2006 at 6:45 a.m., he entered into eternal rest while watching the sun rise.<\/p>\n
In 1943, he graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology. He received his Doctor of Dentistry from the Dental College of Howard University in 1947 and achieved further distinction with the highest score on the NJ Dental Examination in 1948. This began his dental career in Paterson, which extended over 50 years. During the Korean War he served as a captain in the U.S. Army Dental Corps and was honorably discharged.<\/p>\n
Dr. Capers and his wife Gertrude were champions of civil rights. They founded the first black democratic club in the city of Paterson. Both served the community by advancing equality in housing and employment opportunities within the City Administration, the Board of Education and the Police Department of Paterson. Dr. Capers was appointed as the first black dentist to serve on the dental staff of the Paterson school system by the mayor. In 1968, Vice President Hubert Humphrey sent congratulatory greetings as Dr. Capers was the first black State Assemblymen elected by the citizens of Passaic County, District 14-B, who elected him to a second term. During this same year, he was elected to serve as a member of the Board of Directors for the Paterson Boy’s Club. Dr. Capers was honored by the Bergen-Passaic Howard University Alumni Club and his fellow Paterson Kiwanis Club members for his commitment to community service, consumer advocacy, justice and equality.<\/p>\n
His ties to the Paterson community remained strong in his twilight years when Dr. Capers and Gertrude retired to Ringwood, NJ. Both he and his wife, a published author, were honored by the Paterson Public Library. Her poignant memoir, “A Scent from the Blue Ridge,” (under the pen name Trudi Capers) serves as a tribute to her husband’s accomplishments and a reflection of the history and the genesis of the civil rights movement in the City of Paterson, while tracing her family’s roots from slave and American Indian ancestry. In September 2002, Dr. Capers and Gertrude celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with family and friends.<\/p>\n
He leaves to cherish his memory: his beloved wife, Gertrude Stanton Capers; three children, artist Selena James, Superior Court Judge Michelle Hollar-Gregory, and financial consultant Augustus T. Capers, Jr.; as well as three grandchildren, Dr. Robert A. James, Jr., and Ryan and Kyle Hollar-Gregory; sons-in-law Robert A. James, Sr. and Milton R. Hollar-Gregory, esq.; nieces Betty and Virginia; nephews Vreeland and Melville; and many cousins, other family members and friends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My parents were worried when Dr. and Mrs. Capers moved in next door; the house they built was shaped like an ark. “Do they know something we don’t?” Mom wondered. The Capers helped me grow up (sorta like in loco grandparentis) and they showed an awful lot of kindness to my mom after Dad left. … <\/p>\n
Continue reading “RIP”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-suburbs"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4C7K-hC","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4638,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/unrequired-reading-nov-6-2009","url_meta":{"origin":1092,"position":0},"title":"Unrequired Reading: Nov. 6, 2009","author":"Gil","date":"November 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Off to L.A. this weekend, dear readers! I'll be busy with an online project for work, so there may be no \"What It Is\" on Monday. Like you care. Anyway, since you're just here for another installment of my idiosyncratic links, just click \"more\"! Hall & Oates: possessed of a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Architecture"","block_context":{"text":"Architecture","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/architecture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2022,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/undercover-blocke","url_meta":{"origin":1092,"position":1},"title":"Undercover Blocker","author":"Gil","date":"April 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"In the tradition of the cassette guy whom I used to buy music from in Philly, the Kennedy Fried Chicken that Dad & I used to hit in Paterson, and, of course, McDowell's, it looks like some black people have been sticking it to The Man by genetically bootlegging beta\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Pharmaceuticals"","block_context":{"text":"Pharmaceuticals","link":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/category\/big-business\/pharmaceuticals"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1482,"url":"http:\/\/chimeraobscura.com\/vm\/monday-morning-montaigne-of-age","url_meta":{"origin":1092,"position":2},"title":"Monday Morning Montaigne: Of Age","author":"Gil","date":"April 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I made two discoveries when I started my Montaigne reading this weekend: the essays are actually divided into three books, and I was about 20 pages from the end of the first book! 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