Depression-era mom L.E. Colter dies at 104

Beatrice Colter, lifelong housekeeper and member of Bethel AME church... — Beatrice Colter, lifelong housekeeper and member of Bethel AME church in Freeport, has died. She was 104. Credit: None/

By GARY DYMSKIgary.dymski@newsday.comMarch 15, 2011

It was one thing to be a child of the Great Depression, but to be a parent in that time was another burden altogether.

Because, as Beatrice Colter said Tuesday remembering her mother, "it was paramount you made sure your family was taken care of, that it could survive."

Laura Elizabeth Colter met the challenge of being a Depression-era mother with a grit common among her contemporaries, family said. The Freeport woman, who died at 104 on March 8 in her home after a long illness, raised seven children, was a devoted wife and routinely found comfort in her church, her daughter said.

"She stressed to us to always do the right thing and to make the best of what you have," said Beatrice, 74, also of Freeport, as she recalled her mother's efforts to guide her family through the economic instability before World War II.

Born in Whitehall, S.C., in 1907, Colter moved to New Jersey to work as a housekeeper when she was 16. There she met Herman Colter, whom she married in 1925. They promptly moved to Freeport.

Herman Colter, a merchant mariner by trade, found jobs in the construction industry, working on buildings at Jones Beach and the eastern expansion of the Sunrise Highway, while his wife worked as a housekeeper and laundress.

She was a whiz at cooking, cleaning, sewing and caring for anything about the house, her daughter said, and she passed her domestic knowledge to family.

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Family always celebrated holidays with Colter, whose collard greens, stuffing and sweet potato pies were considered culinary delights.

Colter, a member of Freeport's Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, became a stewardess who helped to administer Communion and baptism. Later she became a driving force in the church's senior citizen program.

After her husband died in 1987 and even into her late 90s, Colter remained active with the Bethel AME seniors, senior groups in Hempstead and Lido Beach, and the American Legion Auxiliary.

In addition to her daughter, Colter is survived by daughter Laura Mae Colter, also of Freeport, son Ronald Colter, of Central Islip, 13 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Three sons preceded her in death: Herman Jr. in 2004, Abraham in 1992 and Jasper in 1990.