Maxine Powell passes

[ralpht]

I just received a phone call from Pat Cosby telling me the news. A life well lived for 98 years. A remarkable woman who has definitely touched all of our lives.

[theboyfromxtown]

RIP Maxine Powell.

She touched the lives of many and will be forever in their hearts.

7289

[Roberta75]

I just received a phone call from Pat Cosby telling me the news. A life well lived for 98 years. A remarkable woman who has definitely touched all of our lives.

Beautifully said Ralph. I think given this great lady legacy this should be posted in the Motown forum as well imo.

O Lord, we beg of You, through Your loving kindness, have mercy on the soul of Ms Maxine Powell, and now that she is set free from the defilements of this mortal flesh, restore her to her heritage of everlasting salvation with her Father in his Heavenly mansion. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Roberta

[copley]

Oh Ralph, that is very sad news indeed. What a great lady in the real sense of the word. The world is a poorer place with her passing.

RIP Mrs Powell.

7290

[berry101]

R.I.P Maxine. May you rest in peace. Such a lady . I am pleased that I was able and had the pleasure to meet with you on Detroit turf , even

[R. Mark Desjardins]

This is very sad news. I am SO happy that she received recognition during her lifetime, and what a long and rich life it was!

[antceleb12]

How very sad to hear. What a magnificent woman. Prayers for your family.

Rest in peace, Ms. Powell.

[mowsville]

R.I.P Mrs Powell...a job well done.

[marv2]

May God Bless and rest Mrs. Powell's soul. She did good works.

[glencro]

Sorry to hear this. I met her once with Martha Reeves at a CVS drugstore. They were printing off pictures. I just said hello and kept moving. She was well dressed as usual and displayed a lovely smile.

[stingbeelee]

On the Detroit News website [[article by Susan Whitall):

October 14, 2013 at 5:21 pm
Maxine Powell, Motown etiquette maven, has died
Susan Whitall
The Detroit News

Maxine Powell, the feisty finishing school teacher who took Motown’s stable of talented, rough-hewn kids and turned them into glamorous stars, died this morning at Providence Hospital in Southfield. She was 98.

Born in Texarkana, Texas, and raised in Chicago, Powell was one of the founding members of Motown’s fabled Artist Development department, which was organized by Harvey Fuqua to instruct the label’s young stars in singing, dancing and general deportment. Bandleader Maurice King worked on the music, choreographer Cholly Atkins gave them their moves, and Powell showed the teenagers the finer points of grooming and presentation.

Berry Gordy Jr. met Powell after his sisters Gwen, Anna and Esther attended her Detroit finishing school.

In a statement released Monday, Gordy paid tribute to a woman who was “unique in every way.

“She brought something to Motown that no other record company had. She was a star in her own right — an original. She will always be remembered for her style and class, and she instilled that into the Motown artists by teaching them how to walk, talk and even think with class. She was tough, but when she got through with them, they were poised, professional…and very thankful,” he said.

“‘I love you all,’ she’d say, ‘but don’t confuse me with your mother. She’s stuck with you, I’m not! Ladies, remember your gloves, walk with class like you were taught — and always remember, do not protrude the buttocks. One day you will perform for the kings and queens of Europe, but for now we must make the best of it on the circuit of the chit-ter-ling.’

“She was not only smart, but very funny,” said Gordy. “Maxine Powell will always be a great part of the Motown family and legacy. We miss her and will always love her.” Last August, the Motown Historical Museum honored Powell with an event attended by Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves and other Motown stars.

“I thank God that she had a chance to be a part of that event and have all of that love showered on her and know how much she was appreciated,” said Robin Terry, board chair of the museum and granddaughter of founder Esther Gordy Edwards.

“The fact that she could still articulate so much of her story, that was the other blessing,” Terry added. “She was very aware of all of the people who were there, of all the love, and it was her opportunity to receive all of that and tell her story.”

Reeves recalled, in August, how Powell was the first person to tell her she was beautiful. “She would tell us that we were all like flowers, some were roses, some were lilies, but that we all had the potential to be beautiful.”

Powell was an integral part of Motown, because it was the ladylike glamour of Motown’s female singers and girl groups and the refined polish of the men that set the Detroit label apart from its scruffier competition.

Most of the young artists signed to Motown grew up within several miles of the company’s office on W. Grand Blvd., so it fell to Powell to hone her “diamonds in the rough.” “They came out of the neighborhoods, the churches, the high schools, and they weren’t refined,” Terry said. “She was responsible for polishing them, and that’s a big deal.”

Famous for her hats and sharp outfits, the Motown staffer was referred to as “Mrs. Powell” by all, including her boss, Gordy, and she was famous for sharp corrections of what she deemed inappropriate behavior.

At a dinner party some years ago for Esther Gordy Edwards, several of the young people, including Edwards’ granddaughter Terry, started dancing. “Mrs. Powell stood up and said, ‘Ladies dance with their feet, not their buttocks,’” Terry said.

“She was professional and dignified to the very end,” Terry said. “Miss Powell epitomized a refined, polished lady. That’s what she did and who she was.”

In August, although Powell was frail and had to have help getting around, she still had a few quips for reporters. She recalled how Marvin Gaye once told her that he “didn’t need charm school.”

“It’s a finishing school,” Powell said, correcting him. “Well, I don’t need finishing,” Gaye told her.

“You don’t need as much as some, but you close your eyes when you’re singing, and people think you’re asleep,” said Powell. “And, you slouch. So we’ll work on those two things.”

During Motown star Reeves’ tenure on Detroit City Council, Powell worked as one of her assistants. Today, the city council paused for a moment of silence in remembrance of her.

Funeral arrangements are incomplete.

swhitall@detroitnews.com
twitter.com/swhitall
From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131014/OBITUARIES/310140102#ixzz2hjbLznU6

[Roberta75]

Sorry to hear this. I met her once with Martha Reeves at a CVS drugstore. They were printing off pictures. I just said hello and kept moving. She was well dressed as usual and displayed a lovely smile.

Martha Reeves must be devasted as she and Mrs Powell were real real close.

Roberta

[JIVE FIVE Mary G.]

Sad news indeed. She lived a good and long life. She was the epitome of class and dignity.

My condolence to her family and friends.

May Miss Powell Rest In Peace...

~~Mary~~

[moe]

What a loss........and a true lady!!

[REDHOT]

Miss Powell was THE BEST,R.I.P Miss Powell,Thanks For Everything

[soulster]

Damn. I was just thinking about this happening a few days ago. R.I.P.

[Roberta75]

Diana Ross has released a statement about the passing of Maxine Powell:

http://www.freep.com/article/20131015/ENT04/310150182/1035/ent/Diana-Ross-pays-tribute-mentor-Maxine-Powell


"Girls growing up in underprivileged areas, need to know their worth and their value. I was born in the Brewster housing project and meeting Maxine Powell showed me that there was the possibility of beauty, grace, integrity and meaning to my life. The wisdom she shared with me and all of the young artists at Motown will never be forgotten. She was the true example of a mentor and coach and just someone who cared about us.

I also hope to be such an example as I live my life. We will truly truly miss her."

Diana Ross

Mary Wilson [[https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1132599217&directed_target_id=0):
One of our Motown mentors has passed on. Ms Maxine Powell who showed us how to be Graceful, by telling us we were Diamonds in the rough and that they were just there to polish us. What a beautiful thought to pass on to young people.
Touch
Mary Wilson

Berry Gordy
"She brought something to Motown that no other record company had," Gordy said in a statement Monday. "She was a star in her own right — an original. She will always be remembered for her style and class, and she instilled that into the Motown artists by teaching them how to walk, talk and even think with class."

[dinelle_watson]

She DEFINITELY lived a long, fulfilling life. I don't think I could say anything else that hasn't been said already. R.I.P. Mrs. Powell.

[sophisticated_soul]

RIP Maxine Powell. Thank you for all your beautiful work at MoTown.

[splanky]

RIP, Ms Powell, congrats on a full, envied life...

[timmyfunk]

I remember her being prominently featured in a segment of the PBS/BBC documentary series Rock And Roll. RIP Ms. Powell.

[stingbeelee]

Maxine Powell's Funeral today 10/18/13:
It was a dignified, refined occasion worthy of the Maxine Powell name.

The late Detroit personal development instructor and life coach, best known for her work with Motown Records, was memorialized today during a two-hour funeral at Hartford Memorial Baptist Church.

“She would have loved it,” the Supremes’ Mary Wilson said afterward. “She would have been very proud.”

Wilson, the Velvelettes’ Cal Street and Motown Museum chairman Robin Terry were among the 100-plus on hand for a service overseen by the Rev. Charles C. Adams, with a eulogy given by his father and Powell’s pastor, the Rev. Adams.

Also on hand were Motown arranger Paul Riser, singer Caroline Crawford and members of the Contours. Crawford [[“Precious Lord”) and Street [[“His Eye Is on the Sparrow”) performed during the service and the recessional [[“Going Up Yonder”).

Friends fondly remembered Powell as a woman who lived the class and elegance she taught for a living, hailing her as a figure who helped shape Motown’s public image — and thus, the image of black America writ large. Among her private students was future Miss USA Carole Gist.

They also emphasized that the elderly Powell never stopped teaching, still instructing young women on the proper way to sit, speak and exit cars. Even ahead of her death Monday at Southfield’s Providence Hospital, Powell was distributing her business cards to hospital personnel.

In a prayer, the Rev. Adams said God had used Powell “to smooth out the rough edges in your sons and daughters.”

Diana Ross’ youngest sister, Rita Ross, read a public statement issued by her famous sibling, noting that “the wisdom she shared with me and all of the young artists at Motown will never be forgotten.” Terry relayed thoughts from her great-uncle and Motown founder, Berry Gordy Jr.

A resolution from Detroit City Council, presented by councilwoman Brenda Jones, celebrated Powell as “a pioneer of black enterprise in Detroit” for her modeling and finishing-school endeavors. The City Council also celebrated Powell’s activism in helping to racially integrate the modeling rosters at Detroit auto shows.

Wilson recounted Powell’s work with the teenage Supremes, whose stage moves and self-confidence she helped refine.

“We all were touched by this woman’s knowledge of the gifts that God gave us,” said Wilson.

WDIV-TV [[Channel 4) reporter Paula Tutman had attendees chuckling with her tale of Powell’s final TV interview, conducted by Tutman after the infamous Miley Cyrus twerking performance at August’s MTV Video Music Awards. Tutman said Powell was dismayed by the young pop star’s “booty” display and sternly advised Cyrus to mind herself.

Beverly Bantom, a close friend who was frequently at Powell’s side in recent years, spoke of her friend’s upbeat spirit through her final days, including her signature voice mail greeting: “Hello, beautiful person!”

Also in attendance were representatives of local organizations that boasted Powell’s membership, including the Detroit Lions Club and the Red Hat Society, a women’s auxiliary whose members served as flower bearers for the day.

Burial followed at Detroit’s Woodlawn Cemetery, with a reception scheduled afterward at the Roostertail Club — an event planned by Powell herself, in one final salute to fine living.
http://www.freep.com/article/2013101...motown-funeral

Contact Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or bmccollum@freepress.com

[marv2]

Mrs. Powell doing her job!