Ollie Veasey

Ollie Veasey was born on November 15, 1926, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. He and his older brother and sister, Herman and Beatrice, were raised by their mother, Inatio Shipp Brown and their stepfather Isaac Brown in the small, rural Mississippi town of their birth. Ollie didn't have a lot of "book learning", but possessed a quick, inquisitive mind, was an avid reader, and was a mechanical genius. He was good with his hands, and could take apart and build almost anything. He mastered sewing and upholstery, plumbing, electrical wiring, construction and building, and even did some cooking, especially his favorite salmon croquettes.

As teenagers in Kosciusko, he and Herman were always working with cars, and he was employed at the Ellis Motor Company for approximately two years. Ollie was enlisted in the U.S. Army during World War II. It came as no surprise that he used his extraordinary mechanical skills serving in Germany, supervising the motor pool, receiving the World War II Victory Medal and Good Conduct Medal. After discharge, he returned to Mississippi, where his four oldest children, Jean, Joyce, Mae Ollie and Henry ("Buster") were born. In 1946, he relocated to Detroit, Michigan to expand his horizons, where he worked as a mechanic for the Greyhound Bus Company and later for Railway Express. In the late 1940's, he, along with the late Judge William Hague and Lee Franklin started a small taxicab company on Polk Street in River Rouge, Michigan called Rocket Cab Company. The company later moved to Visger Road in Ecorse, Michigan, and in 1978 received the Business Improvement Award from the Business and Professional Association of Ecorse.

He met a young woman, Shirley Terry, who was also from Kosciusko, and in 1957 they were united in marriage. Of this union, the three youngest of his seven children, Glenda, Dianne, and Ollie ("Monte") were born. Ollie and Shirley purchased a home on Ninth Street in Ecorse, Michigan in 1958, where they raised their three children and enjoyed their extended family, which remains the family residence until today. Ollie was a fixture in the Ecorse business community, where he continued as the owner/operator of Rocket Cab Company until he sold the business and retired in 1998. Over the years, Ollie and Rocket Cab Company employed dozens of local residents, and provided much needed transportation for the downriver area of Detroit.

The Veasey residence was a hub of neighborhood activity as Glenda, Dianne and Monte grew up. Over the years, long after they were grown, Ollie had frequent visits from their old friends and classmates, and their children. Ollie reveled in these opportunities to visit with many of the people he had seen grow up, and did not hesitate to share his stories, advice, and "unique" brand of wisdom with all who were willing to listen. Sometimes he would engage in long, lively discussions, only to later reveal that he didn't even remember who the person was that he was talking to! Friends and family of all ages would comment on how much "fun" it was to talk with Ollie.

Though he didn't have a high school diploma, Ollie was adamant about the importance of education, and was always there to support the educational endeavors of his family and friends. He did everything he could to make sure that young people, family or not, had the opportunity to work and hone their skills and interests, regardless or their limitations, often mentoring and occasionally employing young people in the community who had no where else to go, or needed a second chance.

Over the years, Ollie was an avid boater and golfer, until in the later years, his health would no longer allow. He loved to travel with his family and did so every chance he got, even as recent as the Nash-McKay family reunion in Florida this past July. Over the past several years, Ollie, along with Shirley and daughter Dianne, has been a fixture at his church home, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, in Detroit, Michigan, where all of their children were raised in Christ.

Ollie waged a valiant battle against the ravages of lung cancer for the past thirteen years. On Monday, October 10, 2011, with Shirley, his son Henry ("Buster") and daughter-in-law Mildred by his side, he laid back to rest. He slipped away quietly, peacefully and without pain, surrounded by love.

He was preceded in death by his mother Inatio, and step-father Isaac, and his sister Beatrice. He leaves to cherish his memory his loving wife, Shirley, his brother Herman Veasley, three sisters-in-law, Renee Veasley, Bobbye Adams and Helen Terry, two brothers-in-law, Franklin Adams and Dwain Love, his seven children Jean Veasy, Joyce Barnes, Mae Ollie Dotson, Henry ("Buster") Peteet, Glenda Turner, Dianne Veasey, and Ollie ("Monte") Veasey, one son-in-law, Antione Turner, two daughters-in-law, Mildred Peteet and Darla Veasey, fourteen grandchildren, nineteen great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family and friends.