Obituary of Bobbie B Lander

Obituary of Bobbie Lander Bobbie Bolds Lander was born in Menlo, Georgia, on April 16, 1925, the youngest of 13 children, the daughter of William F. Bolds and Rosa Lee Covington (Bolds). She was raised on the farm in Menlo until World War II brought her, at the age of 18 years, to Washington, DC, where she worked for the Department of the Navy. This was the beginning of her lifelong career with the United States Government. Bobbie worked in various governmental agencies for over 20 years in Washington, when she met and married Fred L. Lander, III, in 1964, who was then an aspiring graduate of Howard University Law School. In marrying Fred Lander, she took on the responsibility of raising Fred’s two young sons, Fred Leonard Lander, IV (now known as Leonard) and C. Victor Lander. Bobbie always said that raising Leonard and Victor was the most important thing she could have done with her life, and that she did not have two step-sons – she just had two sons who had two mothers. The family moved to Dallas, Texas in 1972, when Fred took a position with the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration in Dallas. While putting her sons through college, and helping her husband pass the Texas Bar, Bobbie landed a position with the Internal Revenue Service in Dallas, and was the first African American female tax auditor to work for the IRS. Fred became a lawyer with the federal government, Leonard joined the Navy, and Victor became a lawyer and a Judge, and Bobbie could not have been prouder of all three. Bobbie retired from the IRS in 1980, after over 35 years of government service, and within a few years she became secretary in the law office of Lander and Associates, P. C., the first black father-son law firm in the state of Texas, begun by her husband, Fred and her son, Victor. She worked at Lander and Associates, P. C., for 10 years, until she and Fred retired (again). Bobbie was an active member of the New Home Baptist Church for well over 40 years until her health failed. She became involved in various civic, community and cultural activities, most geared towards the encouragement of education. She was a life member of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW), Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, the Links, Incorporated, and the Dallas Association of Bench and Bar Spouses (affiliate of the J. L. Turner Legal Association, Dallas’ association of black attorneys). As a member of Bench and Bar Spouses, she, along with Mrs. Barbara Steele, the late Judge Cleo Steele, and her husband, Fred, formed the C. A. W. Clark Legal Clinic, a monthly legal clinic bringing lawyers and Judges to the people they serve, to give legal advice to the community, a legal clinic which continues to this day. She was also a member of the Board of the Thurgood Marshall Recreation Center and an officer in the Glen Oaks Homeowners Association. In 1996, at the age of 72 years, Bobbie finally achieved what she had promised her father long before, and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from Dallas Baptist University, one of the oldest students to ever graduate from that University. While at Dallas Baptist, she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated. Her graduation from DBU was such a significant accomplishment that she was featured in the August/September 1996 issue of the Praise and Power magazine of the Friendship-West Baptist Church. Bobbie’s story and long life has been an inspiration to many. She was preceded in death by her husband, the late Attorney Fred L. Lander, 111, and by all 12 of her brothers and sisters. She is survived by her sons, Leonard Lander and C. Victor Lander; by her nephew, Clyde W. Bolds (Gloria), of Atlanta, Georgia; by her niece, Janice Billingslea of Atlanta, Georgia; and by a host of the Bolds family throughout the country and friends throughout the world (including her loving Goddaughter, Cheryl Goode). Bobbie was the last of her siblings to go home to be with the Lord, and she will rest in peace beside her beloved husband Fred for eternity. Her loss will be mourned by many. Earth’s loss is Heaven’s gain, and we know that we will see her again.