Mary Opal (Cowser) Alexander

Mary Opal Cowser Alexander was born in the Ball Play community on May 25, 1934.  She was the youngest of ten children from the union of Hurley and Electa Bell Cowser.  Mary’s childhood was filled working on the family farm and playing with her brothers, sisters and extended family throughout Cherokee and Etowah counties. 

 Mary attended Savage Wood Elementary School in Ball Play and Hatcher School in Centre. 
The Cowser family faithfully attended New Bethel United Methodist Church in the community of Ball Play.  The church was founded by her great grandfather and grandmother, Parris and Adeline Adams and other family members and remains the spiritual center of the Cowser family.

Mary ultimately followed her older sister Florence, and niece Evelyn and chose to attend the private Methodist school, Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia.  While attending Clark College, Mary majored in secretarial science and secondary education. During her enrollment at Clark she was active in a host of organizations and clubs. She was voted Miss Clark College in 1955; was a member of the Ivy Leaf Club, worked as an assistant in the Business Department; and was one of 13 students selected from Clark College to be a member of Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities in 1955.
During her junior year at Clark College, her dorm mother recommended her for an audition with the Coca-Cola company. Coke was launching their first advertising campaign to include African-Americans.  After attending the audition with over 75 candidates, she and two Morehouse College students were selected to be in the historic print media advertising campaign. While this was Mary’s only modeling job, it gave her great confidence and expanded her idea of the world and what was possible.  In 2007 Coca Cola recognized Mary and her role as the first African American woman in their print ads. The Coke archives were updated to include her name and her story. The tribute included an interview with Steve Harvey and programs for Coke employees where they were able to hear from her directly about her experience. You can visit the Coke Museum in Atlanta today and see her advertising campaign on display.

After graduation from Clark College in 1956 Mary moved to Detroit and attended Wayne State University for her master's degree in secondary education.  Mary’s first teaching job was at suburban Mount Clemens High School. While interviewing her, the principal warned that she would be the first black teacher at the school.  She asked him “what color of blood did the students have; when he said `red,' Mary told him she had the same color blood ... he hired her the spot. 

Three years later, she transferred to Highland Park School and later became its first female principal. Mary also became the first African American female school administrator for the state of Michigan.  Mary was at Highland Park for twenty-seven years and managed a staff of over 125 at the time of her retirement.  In addition to her pioneering work as a school administrator, Mary helped hundreds of students secure internships and permanent employment after graduation. There are countless stories of how she operated as a recruiter on their behalf connecting them with small and large businesses in the Detroit area.

Mary was briefly married to Dick “Night Train” Lane, and their union produced her greatest joy, Richard, who is now a Catholic Evangelist in Detroit, Michigan.  She later found her soulmate, Henry Donald Alexander who she married in 1982.  They eventually moved to Ocala, Florida, where she spent her retirement enjoying the wonderful weather, friends, and cooking with her husband.  Mary was also an active member of the Ocala community and the Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. In 2022 Mary’s life and accomplishments were recognized by her alma mater, now called Clark Atlanta University. She was named the recipient of the Milton-Wright Leadership Torch Bearer Award.  

Mary transitioned on September 19, 2024 due to cardiac arrest, after spending many years battling scleroderma, an autoimmune disease. Mary was preceded in death by her parents and all nine of her brothers and sisters.  She leaves behind her loving husband, Henry Donald Alexander, her son Richard Ladimir Lane, her granddaughter Kristin Alexandria “Alex” Lane, and a host of nieces and nephews and extended family.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the New Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery Fund in her memory.  

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