Former Gainesville mayor, city commissioner and civil rights trailblazer Edward Jennings, Sr. is remembered for everything from his cakes to his public service.
Jennings died on the evening of Jan. 17 at 82 years old. A celebration of his life will take place at 11 a.m. Jan. 25 in Mt. Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, located at 2505 NE Eighth Ave.
Jennings served the Gainesville community for nearly two decades, according to the Gainesville Sun. He was Gainesville’s first community affairs coordinator in 1971, a city commissioner in 1993 and mayor in 1996.
Pegeen Hanrahan, who served as mayor of Gainesville from 2004 through 2010, described Jennings as warm, loving and “bigger than life.”
She said Jennings used to ride around Gainesville with a bullhorn, informing residents of important events and updating them on news happening in the community.
He also brought a cake into City Hall every week, she said, but wouldn’t eat any of it himself because it was always for others to enjoy.
“He will be very, very deeply missed by the Gainesville community,” Hanrahan said.
Carl Harness, a Gainesville assistant city manager from 1998 to 2003, said his friendship with Jennings all started with the cakes Jennings would bake.
Jennings’ cakes were well-known, Harness said, and they weren’t your average cakes. He baked them by hand, and they usually weighed between five and seven pounds.
When Jennings learned that Harness and his family were having a reunion one year in Las Vegas, he decided to send about six cakes to them.
“Needless to say, that was the hit of the reunion,” Harness said. “Everyone was talking about these cakes and talking about Mr. Jennings.”
In the time he served the Gainesville community, Jennings gave “a voice to those who didn’t have a voice,” he said. Harness said he’s honored to have had the opportunity to work alongside him.
“I could definitely count him as one of my mentors,” Harness said.
Jennings’ cousin Roy Alford, Jr., the owner of Gainesville barber shop Hair Wonders: The Cutting Edge, said Jennings was always supportive and encouraging toward local business owners.
Alford remembers Jennings as a “man of his word” who made efforts to create equal opportunities within Gainesville.
“He would fight for the wellbeing of the community and the citizens of this community, both in the private sector and in the business sector,” Alford said.
Contact Sarah Mandile at smandile@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @sarahmandile.
Edward Jennings, Sr.
