Former HPS board president has died

Yvonne Myrick

By Charles Sercombe
Hamtramck lost a pioneer for women and minorities recently.
Yvonne Myrick, the founder of The Concerned Women of Hamtramck, former Hamtramck Water Department Director and President of the Hamtramck Public School Board, died April 9.
Funeral services will be on Monday, April 18, 2-9 p.m., at James H. Cole Funeral Home, 2624 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit.
Church services will be Tuesday, April 19, at Corinthian Baptist Church, 1725 Caniff Ave. in Hamtramck.
Family hour is at 10 a.m. and funeral service will be at 11 a.m.
Myrick was the first African-American to serve on the school board.
Retired HPS Superintendent Tom Niczay praised Myrick’s legacy.
“Yvonne Myrick was a smart, strong, generous, God-fearing woman. A lady who fought injustice on the local level with conviction.,” Niczay said. “While superintendent after a difficult meeting in which Mrs. Myrick supported a resolution I proposed, I thanked her for her support. She said I didn’t support you; I supported the resolution because it was the correct thing to do.”
Madelyn Porter, an educator in the HPS District, said Myrick was her mentor, and that the Concerned Women of Hamtramck was “an organization that meant the world to her.”
Porter is behind a gofundme.com donation drive in honor of Myrick, with a goal of raising at least $1,500.
The money, she said, will be used “to continue the work of The Concerned Women of Hamtramck.
“Let’s make her dream come true, and help to make Hamtramck a world class city of diversity, tolerance, and cultural awareness through the arts.”

To donate, click on this link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/yvonne-myricks-dream?qid=99ff4408ac973c8704159cc59f98bf58

Another HPS District employee, Vanessa Gray wrote in Facebook:
“My mentor! My heart and prayers go out to her family! All her hard work with the city and school board will never be forgotten!”
Posted April 15, 2022