Political pioneer Dionne Bagsby remembered as a consummate diplomat, ‘mother to many’
She was the woman hundreds of people called mother, said those who attended her funeral services Friday.
Dionne Bagsby, Tarrant County’s first female and first African-American county commissioner, freely gave her time and energy to others and was the kind of friend who would tell you what you needed to hear, not necessarily what you wanted to hear, they said.
She died Jan. 10 at age 82.
“You remember the story of the mother who ruled her family with an iron fist and a velvet glove?” asked the Rev. Donald Hogg, a Presbyterian minister who delivered the sermon Friday morning. “Dionne did that.”
Bagsby was not only mother to her own daughters but was mother to her daughters’ friends, Hogg said.
Others who attended the services at the First Presbyterian Church said Bagsby left a legacy of people in positions of political power who aspired to live up to her expectations. Political leaders in attendance were asked to stand, and more than a dozen current and former office-holders rose from their seats.
“Dionne was a pioneer and was committed to the cause of freedom,” said Jesse Gaines, who ran her first campaign. “She did the work with vision and desire. She was a strong proponent of getting young people out to serve their community. Running her campaign was one of the greatest periods of my life.”
In her election, Bagsby unseated a 20-year incumbent and became the only African-American female county commissioner in the state of Texas.
Bagsby, originally from Illinois, had a lifelong passion for education.
After she moved to Fort Worth with her husband, Jim Bagsby, in the 1960s, she worked to integrate Fort Worth schools, where she worked as a speech therapist. She spent much of her time recruiting and encouraging others to run for office or to become involved in community groups.
Spurred by community support, Bagsby decided to run for office herself and entered the race for County Commissioner Precinct 1. She won the 1988 race, defeating 20-year incumbent Richard “Dick” Andersen in the Democratic primary.
“I grew up in the neighborhood and she was more of a mom to me than anything else,” said Walter Williams, 56.
Williams credited Bagsby with helping him start an engineering business.
Entrepreneur Jim Austin noted that leaders from the black, white and Hispanic communities were in attendance Friday.
“When you look at her diplomacy, she spoke firmly and well about the needs of the black community,” Austin said. “She is one of the greatest leaders to come through in the last 100 years.”
Shannon Fletcher, chief of staff in the Tarrant County district attorney’s office, called Bagsby a mentor for a generation of leaders, and said she showed everyone that well-done is better than well-said.
Bagsby was also fond of saying, “If you want something said, ask a man, but if you want something done, ask a woman,” according to Fletcher.
Tarrant County Commissioner Roy C. Brooks, who occupies the position that Bagsby once held, said his life is better because he knew her.
“She had the best laugh of anyone in the room,” Brooks said. “She was brave and she could make you brave. She delighted in every one of my children and loved them as her own and took full credit for all of their accomplishments.”
The adage that if you have one true friend you have had more than your share applies to his relationship with Bagsby, Brooks said.
“I have had far more than my share,” he said.
State Rep. Yvonne Davis, D-Dallas, recently filed a measure honoring Bagsby in the Texas House of Representatives.
House Resolution 63 notes her work through the years for the community, touching on everything from how she helped the Fort Worth school district “work toward a peaceful integration of Fort Worth schools” to her 16 years serving as a Tarrant County commissioner.
“A woman of profound religious faith, Dionne Bagsby lived by the words of Luke 12:48: ‘From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded,’ and the legacy of her service to her family and her community will forever inspire all those who knew and loved her,” the resolution states.
Staff writers Anna M. Tinsley and Luke Ranker contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 18, 2019 at 3:30 PM with the headline "Political pioneer Dionne Bagsby remembered as a consummate diplomat, ‘mother to many’."
