Cornelia “Pinky” Modeste passed away on January 16th, 2021 after a four-week long battle with COVID-19. She left earth in the same way she lived her life - fighting. Pinky was a loving and devoted mother, beloved sister and friend to everyone whose life she touched. She lived an impactful life and left the world better than she found it.

 

Pinky was born November 17th, 1951 to Janie Belle and Richard Lee Moore in Monticello Florida. Pinky was the fifth of 10 children. She leaves behind seven siblings: Jerry, Cynthia, John "Bubba", Michael, Jane, David and Barbara, and was preceded in death by two siblings: Richard and Charles. 

 

Pinky was educated in the Leon County School District. She graduated from FAMU (Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University) High School where she was crowned Miss FAMU High for the 1968 - 1969 school year. After graduating in 1969, Pinky married her high school sweetheart, Samuel Shingles Sr. They were married for a total of 24 years and had three children: Samuel “Shing” Jr., Christina Marie (Jamar) and Janie Melissa (Romain). She was the proud grandmother of six grandchildren: Brandon Samuel (Shing), Christopher Dillon, Matilda Karlin (deceased) and Damita Simone (Christina) and  Kyrah Joy-Anna and Kingston Samuel (Janie).

 

During her early life in Chaires and Tallahassee, Pinky lived and witnessed first-hand the daily inequalities and injustices of the Jim Crow South. These experiences made a deep and lasting impression on Pinky, shaping in her a passion for civil rights activism and a drive to empower black professionals and businesses. 

 

After a successful 20-year career in retail at Gayfers in Tallahassee, Pinky began a career in government that became a channel for her efforts in economic empowerment for minorities. This transition marked the beginning of Pinky’s legacy of supporting minority business growth and enterprise. Pinky directed and coordinated minority business efforts for the Florida departments of Corrections and Health, as well as the Leon County School District. In her roles with the State of Florida, Pinky created and led statewide forums to directly connect minority businesses with large agencies to increase their procurement opportunities. When she wasn’t working, Pinky stayed busy, pioneering the minority business magazine FAMBEO and earning a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Florida A&M University. 

 

In 2000, Pinky took a leap of faith, relocating to Albany, GA for a new career opportunity as Dougherty County’s Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Growth. She was wildly successful in this role. Pinky’s diligence was nationally recognized in 2014, when she was invited to the White House to serve as a roundtable participant at President Barack Obama’s Minority and Small Business Summit for Business Growth and Development Across America. Meanwhile, under Pinky’s leadership, business conditions in Albany improved enough for small and disadvantaged businesses that she essentially worked herself out of a job. She retired from Dougherty County in 2010. Unable to rest on her laurels, Pinky went into private consulting for a time. She then returned to the workforce as a Career Services Specialist and Grants Administrator at Albany State University, from which she ultimately retired. 

 

Throughout her years in Albany, Pinky was an active and engaged leader outside of work. She served on several volunteer committees and boards, including the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission, the Senior Citizens Benefit Board and the Southwest Georgia Regional Workforce Board. She also founded and led the Modeste Foundation for a Better Tomorrow, which provided needed services and training to disadvantaged people and supported civic engagement. 

 

Pinky had an unshakeable faith and love for the Lord. She was a faithful member of Greater Grace Church of God in Christ in Albany, GA and an ardent student of the Bible, always seeking a deeper understanding of God’s word, intent and love. She could often be found poring for hours over the Bible and several open concordances seeking the deepest possible understanding of God’s love for his children. She earned a Masters degree in Divinity in 2018 from Kingdom Life Global Theological Seminary in Albany, GA, and was currently pursuing a Doctorate degree at the same institution.    

 

It was also in Albany that she also met the man who would be her husband, her helpmate. She married Leon “Moe” Modeste in 2006. They spent eleven blissful years of marriage in Albany before Moe passed away in 2017. Pinky was a loving stepmother to Moe’s children, Leon Modeste (Joe), Ummi Rhea Modeste, and Keith Modeste (Raquel); and grandchildren Audunni (Ummi Rhea) and Makeir (Keith).

 

From 2017 until 2020, Pinky lived in between Albany and Pensacola, Florida, where her daughter Janie resides with her husband and two children. In 2020, she felt called to return to Albany to dedicate herself to civic engagement and voter registration. During this time, she served Regional Coordinator for Black Voters Matter, and as a coordinator for 1,000 Women Strong, working alongside political leaders, including Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. Pinky played an instrumental role in the local voter registration drives that supported Joe Biden’s 2020 Presidential win as well as two runoff races in the U.S. Senate. Tragically, Pinky passed away unaware that her efforts contributed to a successful shift in the U.S. Senate to a Democratic majority. 

 

Pinky leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of fearless love and leadership. Her activism and volunteer efforts gave a voice to thousands of voters and helped to reset the future of our country. 

 

Pinky lived her life in power. May she now rest in power.