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Services for Mrs. Ethel Faye Blackwell the Owner and General Manager of KZWA 104.9 FM who died Tuesday in a local hospital, will be held as follows:
Friday January 30th, KZWA Radio will host "An evening of Remembrance" at 7:00pm at Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church, 119 N. Banks Street. The evening will feature expressions and musical tributes in Blackwell's honor.
Saturday January 31st, Funeral Services will be held at Trinity Baptist Church, 1800 Country Club Road. Visitation will begin at 8:00 am until the start of the funeral service at 11:00am, Rev. Freddie G. Brown will officiate the service.
Arrangements are entrusted in Fondel's Funeral Home.
In Memoriam
Ethel Faye Brown Blackwell affectionately known as “Ms. B” was born May 10, 1942 in Monroe, Louisiana to the late Robert and Farris Brown. On Wednesday January 21, 2015 at 1:30 a.m. she went to sleep on this side and woke up in paradise.
Having been reared in a Christian home, she sought and accepted Jesus Christ and at an early age, was baptized at the Union Baptist Church in Bosco, Louisiana. She loved to serve the lord in church. She united with Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church in 1976; under the leadership of the late Pastor Harvey Lawson she continued her Christian faith until death under Pastor Freddie G. Brown. She served as announcing secretary, Vice President of the Women’s Missionary Society, Director of Vacation Bible School, and Instructor for the Louisiana Baptist State Convention.
Faye was educated in the public schools of Ouachita Parish. Later, she attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she earned a Bachelor’s in Secondary Education. She was united in holy matrimony to the late Fred Blackwell for 27 years.
Faye was a committed and dedicated educator, having molded the minds of countless boys and girls for 20 years in the Calcasieu Parish School System. In January 1983, Faye founded the MLK Coalition of SWLA; a group of individuals focused on promoting Dr. Marin Luther King Jr’s message of “Peace, Justice, and Brotherhood for all.” For the past 31 years the MLK Festival has presented an array of events in line with that dream. Faye represented District B from 1981 through 1993 as Lake Charles’ first black female to serve on the Lake Charles City Council. She was also the first minority to own and operate a broadcasting company in Louisiana at KZWA 104.9 for 22 years. Its success has been attributed to providing it’s listeners with quality music, informative programming and being a community minded outlet.
She was preceded in death by her parents Robert and Farris Brown and her beloved husband Fred Blackwell. Her memories shall never fade as they are forever embedded in the hearts of her devoted family including, Robert U. Brown Jr., Don Brown of Dallas, Texas, Jackie L. Brown (Gaynell) Harold G. Brown (Delore) Duncanville, Texas, Frankie C. Brown of Dallas, Texas, Jerry Brown (Cathy)Monroe, Louisiana, Brenda Brown-Ifabiyi of Dallas, Texas, Roxie Smith (Ray), of Houston, Texas, two aunts Derunzia Atkins of Monroe, Louisiana and Everette Calhon of Oakland, California, two stepdaughters, Norma Jean Blackwell-Burns of Tulare, California and Myrna Blackwell (Booker) Moore of Sacramento, California and a special god-daughter Tammy Tousant of Lake Charles, Louisiana. She also leaves a host nieces, nephews, relatives and friends to mourn her departure and forever cherish her loving memory.
