Pine Bluff has lost an icon among business leaders. Thedora Clemmons Trammell will leave a legacy behind for her family and the local community.
One of the founders of Trammell's Beauty and Supply Inc., Trammell died Oct. 7 at her home with her husband, Clincy Trammell Jr., by her side.
Trammell's Inc., which included three entities, became one of the largest and most successful Black-owned and operated family businesses in Pine Bluff and the state. She was recognized for being an excellent beautician, a businesswoman, a mother and a grandmother. Her legacy will forever be part of Pine Bluff's history, according to an article on Hidden Figures in The Commercial in April.
Trammell was among 12 women honored in March during Women's History Month. Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington and the city of Pine Bluff recognized women during the city's Hidden Figures Women's Celebration. Her award was received by her oldest daughter Rosemary Norman.
Born on May 18, 1932, in the Immanuel Community of Almyra, she was the youngest of eight children born to John Stanford and Lettie Wafford Clemmons, according to the obituary.
In 1946, she moved to Pine Bluff to continue her high school education at J.C. Corbin School on the campus of Arkansas AM&N College (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).
In high school she studied, worked for a laundry service and participated in group sports such as basketball and softball.
It was at school that she met and fell in love with Clincy Trammell Jr. They were united in holy matrimony on March 2, 1948. From this union two sons and two daughters were born. In 1953, Trammell earned her cosmetology license, thereby beginning her career in cosmetology, according to the obituary.
To help pay for her cosmetology courses, her husband took on a job remodeling the house of the president of the college. Trammell took on several jobs: ironing clothes for the president and his family and working part-time in the beauty shop of her sister-in-law at Clemmons Beauty and Barber. After completing her cosmetology training at Jefferson Collingsworth Beauty School, she gained experience working in several beauty shops in what would become her primary career, according to the article.
In 1959, she started her beauty salon in her home, making her one of the few Black business owners in the city of Pine Bluff. Her business expanded in 1965 to include Trammell's Beauty and Barber Supply Inc.
She determined that working for herself was the best way to build a future for her family. Her beauty shop quickly grew with customers, and she attended local, state and national cosmetology meetings to learn the newest and best methods for hair, according to the article.
She was known as a visionary. Through the family's collective efforts, the business grew to include Trammell's Beauty Room #1, Trammell's Beauty and Barber Supply Inc. and Trammell's Boutique Inc., ultimately making it one of the largest Black owned and operated family businesses in Pine Bluff, according to the obituary.
Trammell was a civic leader. She was a member of the Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce, Pine Bluff Cosmetology Club, Chamber of Commerce Black Female Minority Business Owners, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Chancellor's Ball Committee, Pine Bluff Chapter of the NAACP, AM&N/UAPB Alumni Association, Beauty and Barber Institute, the Arts & Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, and a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International.
She also sponsored a Little League baseball team and football team as well as the Pine Bluff Braves, a semi-professional baseball team.
A devoted Christian, she was a charter member of Faith Presbyterian Church, where she served as a deacon, elder, and clerk of session. She was also a member of the choir and women's auxiliary.
Although she had many achievements and accolades during her lifetime, she was most proud of her family. She felt honored that she was able to do God's will on earth. Her life's philosophy was "whatever you have to do, do it." She epitomized this through her strength and resilience. She was truly a phenomenal woman, according to the obituary.
Her survivors include her husband of 75 years, Clincy Trammell Jr.; two daughters, Rosemary T. Norman and Lettie T. Rayfus of Pine Bluff; six grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren; one sister -in -law, Jessie Clemmons; and one brother-in-law, Curtis Trammell.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today at Faith Presbyterian Church in Pine Bluff. Her body will lie in state from 10 a.m. today until service time. Public visitation was held Friday at P.K. Miller Mortuary in Pine Bluff.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donors consider making contributions to the Clincy and Thedora Trammell Scholarship at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Contributions are accepted online at https://uapb.tfaforms.net/31. Checks should be made payable to UAPB Foundation Fund. Include "Clincy and Thedora Trammell Scholarship" on the memo line, and mail to Office of Development, 1200 N. University Drive, Mail Slot 4981, Pine Bluff, AR 71603.
