‘A life well lived’: Fort Worth gathers to celebrate the life of Reby Cary
For all the trails Reby Cary blazed and the battles against discrimination he fought, Nathan Williams, 72, will always remember him for his big ol’ smile.
Williams is a retired security guard from the FWISD. He attended Dunbar High School in the 1960’s and Cary — a pioneering educator and civil rights activist — was his history teacher in 1964.
“He was my favorite teacher,” Williams said laughing. “He had a big, pretty smile.”
Fort Worth Mayor Betsy Price, city councilman Brian Byrd and Tarrant County Commissioner Roy Brooks joined Williams and about 100 members and friends of the city’s African-American community to celebrate Cary’s life Monday afternoon.
Cary died on Friday, Dec. 7, at age 98. He is survived by his only daughter, Faith Ellis.
At the Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Pastor Marcus McDonald delivered a passionate eulogy that highlighted Cary’s contributions and impact on Fort Worth. McDonald sang along with the choir of the New Rising Star Baptist Church, the church that Cary attended and that his father, Smith Cary, founded.
“He has transitioned from labor to reward,” McDonald said.
The church erupted into applause when McDonald retold the story of how Cary forced UT Arlington to change its mascot from a Rebel soldier and remove Confederate flags on campus.
From teaching to being the first black man on Fort Worth school board to representing District 95 in the state legislature, Cary not only stood up on behalf of the African-American community, but he was always the one leading the charge. McDonald noted how Cary made sure that black students were educated as equally as students from other ethnicities.
“Reby had the wisdom to write history,” said Jewell Blanton Kelly, a retired FWISD teacher. “And if a people forgets its history, it’s subject to make some of the same mistakes. He was a legend in his own time. He didn’t forget his people and he didn’t forget where he came from.”
Bob Ray Sanders, former Star-Telegram columnist and long-time friend, said Cary was passionate about highlighting the contributions of black men and women in Fort Worth and Texas.
“He wanted to tell black America’s story and black Fort Worth’s story,” Sanders said after Cary’s death this month. “He wanted people to know about those pioneers, the doctors, lawyers and others who contributed but who never got the attention or honors they deserve because they lived in a segregated society.”
Cary enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1942 and fought through five campaigns in World War II and was a very proud military man, Sanders said. Sanders pointed out that Cary died on the 77th anniversary of Pearl Harbor.
Cary held several leadership positions in the Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County and Texas Council of Black Republicans. He also founded the Frederick Douglass Republicans of Tarrant County group in 1985.
He was also an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Youth Services Bureau of Tarrant County, Fort Worth Minority Leaders and Citizens’ Council, Boy Scouts of America, United Way of Tarrant County, Fort Worth Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce, Tax Appraisal Review Board of Tarrant County, and the Fort Worth Transportation Authority.
Positive spirits ran high within the church on Monday. McDonald reminded those in attendance that if there was ever a worthy fight to be fought in Fort Worth, Cary was the one to fight it.
“When a thing is not lost, you don’t have to be anxious about it,” McDonald said. “You know where it is. We know where Brother Cary is. He’s resting gently in the arms of the Lord. We’re here to celebrate a life well lived.”
Staff writer Kaley Johnson contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 5:41 PM with the headline "‘A life well lived’: Fort Worth gathers to celebrate the life of Reby Cary."