Frances McCoy

Frances Clare Darkins McCoy passed away quietly, Wednesday, July 6, 2016.  Born August 28, 1932 she was the daughter of Ora Lee Dabney and Samuel Pinkney Darkins and the last remaining of their eighteen children.  Frances grew up in Pittsburgh's historic Hill District and graduated from George Westinghouse High School.  As a young woman, she studied piano at Fillion Studios in Pittsburgh and was an aspiring and accomplished concert pianist.

In 1950, she married Ellis McCoy and they created a loving family together.  A staunch champion of education, she attended the University of Pittsburgh focusing on a degree in Urban Affairs.  Her love of music was instilled in all of her children.  As a mother, she became highly involved in the Parents-Teachers Association (PTA) to help further the educational experiences of her children - and became Pittsburgh's first black PTA president.  This passion led her to become an urban planner.  And in 1966 she joined the Urban Redevelopment Authority and later became the Assistant to the Executive Director.

A woman of deep faith in Jesus Christ, her love for children was reflected in her gift of sharing the Gospel through the community.  Evangelist McCoy and her husband started a vacation bible study program in the 1960s in Garfield - exposing neighborhood children to the educational and cultural excellence of the Pittsburgh community.

In the early 1960s, Frances McCoy was ordained an Evangelist in the Greater Faith Tabernacle Church of God in Christ (COGIC) where the Rev. Duane Darkins, her brother, served as pastor.  Following the closure of Greater Faith Tabernacle GOGIC, Evangelist McCoy and her husband, Deacon Ellis McCoy, became lifetime members of Grace Memorial in 1996.

Evangelist Frances Clare Darkins McCoy is survived by her seven children, Ellis Dwight McCoy, Jonathan McCoy, Berthran McCoy, Rodney McCoy, Angela McCoy, Tacey McCoy and Lakeisha McCoy, along with three grandchildren: Jonathan McCoy Jr., Kyle McCoy, and Ellis McCoy III.  We give thanks to God for the life of this great woman of faith and love.