Mrs. Clotea Bolden

BOLDEN, Mrs. Clotea - Age 91, passed away Tuesday, November 7, 2023, at Laurel Heights Adult Foster Care. Family hour 10:00 AM Friday, November 17, 2023, at Vernon Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church 5802 Dupont St., with funeral service commencing at 11:00 AM, Pastor Douglas Banks, Host Pastor, Rev. Helen Williams, officiating, Pastor Robert Blake Eulogist. Interment Sunset Hills Cemetery, G-4413 Flushing Rd. Friends and pallbearers will assemble at the Church 10:00 AM Friday. Mrs. Bolden will lie in state in the Chapel of Lawrence E. Moon Funeral Home and may be viewed from 1:00 PM-6:00 PM Thursday, with family present to receive friends from 4:00 PM-6:00 PM. Clotea Finnie Bolden was born on February 20, 1932, in Somerville, Tennessee to Thomas and Roosevelt (Rosie) Lambert Finnie. She was the oldest of 5 children with 3 brothers and 1 sister. With the passing of her mother at age 16, she helped with the raising of her siblings and became their sister/mom so to speak. After completing high school, she continued helping with her siblings and eventually met and married Horace Bolden on May 19, 1951. On August 30, 1953, they were blessed with a bouncing baby girl whom they named Belinda. In 1955 she made her way northward to Flint, MI with a then toddler in tow, joining her husband for greater opportunities. A few years later on October 8, 1958, there was another blessed event with the birth of another baby girl whom they named Cynthia. Their unit was now complete and then the grandchildren came along years later who became the new apples of her eyes. Clotea was an avid reader, bowler, gardener: she loved her flowers and had not only one green thumb but two. She could nurture and grow a plant from a small piece of nothing. She really loved her flowers and when she went on vacation she would give her daughter, Belinda, strict instructions not to water her plants until a certain day, if at all, because Belinda was known in prior years to overwater and destroy the plants. She was a very giving person to her family and would give her last if they needed it some of those times with a lecture and was not afraid to speak her mind when she felt a certain way in general. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister and was an excellent homemaker. She made sure her family was always well groomed. She was a very good cook and her family loved her turnip greens, mac and cheese, pound cakes, fried chicken, sweet potato pies and when she made them, homemade rolls. She was also a dressmaker and made her girls several matching outfits when they were young. Clotea was a scrapbooker of sorts before scrapbooking became popular with many albums filled with pictures and newspaper clippings of important events that she kept in a certain order. She would always tell people “Well you know I’m a historian.” She also furthered her education by taking several college courses and always instilled in her children the importance of getting an education. Besides her hobbies she was involved in her block club, worked in the Gundry Elementary School lunch program and was a very dedicated member of Vernon Chapel AME Church for over 60 plus years. She loved her church and was a member of the Chancel Choir, Cook Missionary Society, class leader, Outreach Ministry, Vacation Bible assistant, the Lay Organization and a very faithful member of both Sunday School and Night Sunday School. Early on the morning of November 7, 2023, she heard Jesus calling her name and gently took his hand.Clotea leaves to cherish her memory, two daughters, Belinda (Terry) Brown of Flint, MI and Cynthia (Rickey) Howard of Flint, MI; six grandchildren, Terry Jr (Queena) Brown, of Flint, MI, KaRon (Natalie) Brown of Novi, MI, Chyla Brown of Flint, MI, Brandon Brown of Wixom, MI, Javier Howard of Menlo Park, CA and Allia Howard, Dallas, TX; nine great grandchildren, JaQuan, Angel and Bryston Brown of Flint, MI; Layla Brown, and Kaden Patterson of Novi, MI, Amyre, Aniyah, Arielle and Azaria Jones all of Flint, MI; and one great great grandchild, Zy’Aire Brown; one sister, Dorothy Cocroft of Southfield, MI; two brothers, Willie Finnie of Flint, MI and Eugene Finnie, Memphis, TN; four nieces, Gale Parker-Young and Deborah Ellis of Memphis, TN, Janese Finnie of Sterling Heights, MI and Dr. Helen Rodgers of Flint, MI; two nephews, Torey( Brie) Cocroft of Southfield, MI and William (Amber) Finnie of Saginaw MI; A special cousin/”sister,” Elvira Herron; two sisters-in-law, Lola Finnie and LaReece Bolden; and a host of other relatives and friends including special friends, Derenda Collins, Johnnie Simpson, Ruth Boone, Loretta Bingham, Lessie Ross, Lena Marshall, Fannie Oliver, and Willene Sumpter. Clotea was preceded in death by her husband, Horace Bolden; parents, Thomas “Tom” and Roosevelt “Rosie” Lambert Finnie; one brother, Robert Finnie; three brothers-in-law, Quince Bolden, John Bolden, and Mark Cocroft; two sisters-in-law, Earlene Finnie and Jessie Bolden. Live stream will be available on Friday November 17, 2023, 11:00 AM on FB: vernonchapelchurch.com

Mrs. Clotea Bolden

February 20, 1932 - November 7, 2023