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In memory of

Pauline "Pauly" Marie Hargrove

Triangle, VA, USA

February 18, 1931 - December 15, 2020

Feb 18, 1931 - Dec 15, 2020

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Pauline Marie Hargrove
Imaginative, Resourceful, Ambitious, Creative, Entrepreneurial

The family is honored to take a moment to share with you the life of our incredible Mother - Pauline Marie Hargrove. A life to be celebrated and remembered as one full of love and laughter. Pauline was born on February 18, 1931, in Triangle, Virginia, to Louis and Alise Williams. At age 19, she was baptized in the creek on Joplin Road by her uncle the Rev. Oscar Jackson of First Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Our Uncle Oliver (Mom’s first cousin) told us that she was a prissy talkative girly-girl who loved school, dressing sharp, and was always afraid of getting into trouble with their grandmother, Addie Lewis Bates. She graduated from Manassas Industrial School For Colored Youth (Jennie Dean) in 1949. During her senior year of high school, Mom met and fell in love with our dad, Junice Grayson. They were married shortly thereafter, and from this union, Anthony, Rickey, and Janice were born. We often teased Mom because dad was her high school bus driver and a worldly man who’d recently returned home from the U.S. Army.

After high school, Mother quickly embodied the entrepreneurial spirit of her mother and grandmother and opened several successful businesses. In 1954, she became the sole owner/operator of “Pauline’s Sandwich Shop” in Triangle, Virginia. In 1959, she opened a candy store called “The Spot” in Dumfries, Virginia.

Mom’s life changed one sunny day in the 60’s. Mom and her and her best friend Mary (Pippi) Moore witnessed a car accident on Joplin Road. Of course, they stopped to help. The man in the car was Jimmy Hargrove, a young Marine from Detroit. Jimmy always gave Mom credit for saving his life, not just that day, but many times over the years to follow. Jimmy became her one true love, and from this love, her youngest child Trone was born.

Together Pauline and Jimmy became entrepreneurial powerhouses. In the early 60’s they owned and operated the “Blue Bird Restaurant” in Triangle for over two decades. Opening a full-service restaurant on the segregated main street in Triangle during the Jim Crow Era was a pioneering moment in history. Pauline and Jimmy were the first African American’s to obtain and hold a legal alcohol beverage license in Prince William County and the fourth African Americans to hold a legal alcohol beverage license in the state. Even though the restaurant closed and reopened several times, Mom continued to reinvent herself through culinary education.

Pauline and Jimmy also recognized a need for female African American hair care, so they opened “Pauline’s Beauty Shop” next to the restaurant.

In the ’80s, Pauline and her children wanted to recreate the Blue Bird magic and reopened the restaurant as the “Blue Bird Supper Club.” Pauline envisioned an “upscaled” soul food restaurant by day and a nightclub with popular entertainment on the weekends. The “Blue Bird Supper Club” became a well-known go-to spot for local folks and the military (officers and enlisted) from all around the world.

When Blue Bird closed its doors for the final time, Mom continued to grow. She graduated from Executive Chef’s school in Maryland and became the Staff NCO Club manager in Quantico, Virginia. When the Staff NCO Club closed, Mom sought a career change and became the Prince William County Land Field office manager, where she retired.

Retirement did not slow our Mom down. Spending time with family remained the leading theme in her life. Mom’s house was always open and filled with laughter, love, and kids. Anyone who’s been to our Mom’s house knew that loving on her family and friends with food and creating annual celebrations were her passions. During summer, any weekend (rain or shine) was a good enough reason for a family cookout.

As her sons married, she welcomed each of their wives Janet (Rickey), Krista (Trone), and Bettye, deceased (Anthony), as her own. When her daughter married, she welcomed James (Janice) as her fifth son. Mom’s excitement to spend time with any of her six grandchildren Kevin, Rickey, Jaela, Jaime, Cyrus, and Symone, was contagious. Mom would say that her boys were the smartest, but her girls are able to achieve anything. And that her youngest girl Symone is the fearless of them all.

Mom always looked forward to laughing with her favorite granddaughter in law Shannon (Rickey), because Shannon always had a story or a tease for them to share, plus they shared a love of baked ham.

When the great-grandchildren came along, Jonathan, Devin, Mia, and Kiley, Mom said she hit the jackpot because the great-grandchildren were her future, a living legacy. Mom was further blessed to see and spend time with her great-great-grandson, Grayson. Mom often sat and watched the four generations of her tribe gather for family time as if she were watching an exciting television show. She often said what a fine proud smart family she had. Everyone is just getting along, eating, and loving each other.

Our Mom also enjoyed spending time with her stepsons Jiame and Wayne Hargrove. Mom always sought the company of her favorite cousins, Thelma, Hilda, Joan, Oliver, Frank, and Gary. They loved telling each other stories about the old days of Cabin Branch, Hickory Ridge, Bates Town, gardening, and their youth. Our Mom never met a stranger that she could not bring into her fold; her three loving caretakers, Marsha, Deanna, and Linda, became part of our family as well.

Mom wanted me to tell you, do not grieve for her. That she followed the path, God laid for her. She took his hand when she heard him call, she turned her back and left it all. She could not stay another day, to laugh, to love, to work or play. Tasks left undone must stay that way. If her parting left a void, then fill it with remembered joy of a friendship shared, a laugh, or a kiss. Ah yes, these things, she too will miss. To not be burdened with times of sorrow. She wishes you the sunshine of tomorrow. Her life’s been full; she savored much, good friends, good times, a loved one’s touch. Perhaps her time seems all too brief, don’t lengthen it now with undue grief. Lift your heart and continue to share our love. God wanted her now, on December 15, 2020, surrounded by the love of family, God set her free.

Mom also asked in lieu of flowers, consider a gift to her favorite charity St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through her Everloved.Com web page.

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