About Verna Marie “Cuffie” Cuff
July 15, 1928 – January 25, 2020, 91 years
BLACK WOMAN ENTREPRENEUR LEAVES HER LEGACY – Verna Marie “Cuffie” Cuff, a lifelong resident of Kennett Square, was an extraordinary entrepreneurial black woman, ahead of her time.
Born in 1928, Cuffie was the daughter of Albert and Mable Walker Cuff of West Chester. A 1946 graduate of Kennett Consolidated School District, Cuffie was awarded “The Cup” for her four years of outstanding athletic participation.
Cuffie capitalized on her strength and creativity and became a self-employed painter and paperhanger–one of the first black women to have her own interior-exterior decorating business in Pennsylvania. Over the years, she grew into a successful real estate investor of small family homes throughout SE Chester County.
Family friend Kerry Ruff of NYC remembers when Cuffie and her father Albert sold his family the Cuff’s two truck-trash business, which provided the Ruff family income for nearly twenty years.
Cuffie was a member and Sunday school teacher of New Garden Memorial Union American Methodist Episcopal (U.A.M.E.) Church of Kennett Square. Putting her faith into action, Cuffie served as a strong, sensitive caregiver for many of her friends.
Cuffie was predeceased by her four brothers (Albert, Jr., William, Charles, and Robert) and her two sisters (Gertrude Cuff and Bernice Cuff Coy). Cuffie’s host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends remember Cuffie for her integrity, creative fortitude, and for always doing it her way.
Mission
The purpose of the Verna Cuff Charitable Fund is to support charitable organizations.
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Mail a check made payable to:
Verna Cuff Charitable Fund c/o CCCF
28 West Market Street
West Chester, PA 19382