Headstone donated for grave of one-time slave in Alabama

By RUSS COREY, (Florence) TimesDaily

FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) – The grave of a one-time slave in north Alabama now has a marker 70 years after he died.

Ike Coffee’s obituary stated he was a former slave and had worked in a family home in Florence for 65 years helping raise 10 children. He died at age 95.

Bill Simpson never knew Coffee, but he heard numerous stories about him from when his mother and aunts were growing up.

He researched Coffee and discovered his grave at Florence Cemetery lacked a marker.

It was installed, and a memorial ceremony was held recently that had been delayed because of the pandemic.

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7/3/2022 12:01:18 AM (GMT -5:00)