Mrs. Procope’s reputation fell under a cloud when she, along with 17 other members of Adelphi’s trustees, were removed by the state Board of Regents in 1997 for failing to properly oversee spending by the university’s president. As chairwoman of the trustees, she was also accused of conflict of interest for handling the university’s insurance through her brokerage. She denied wrongdoing, contending that her company provided Adelphi free consulting, saved it money and provided superior service.
Ernesta Gertrude Forster was born on Feb. 9, 1923, in Brooklyn and was raised in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Her father, Clarence Forster, was born in Barbados and became a chief steward for Cunard Lines. He later owned real estate and was a postal worker. Her mother, Elvira (Lord) Forster, a homemaker, was born in St. Lucia, in the British West Indies. Her father was a son of Sam Lord, a notorious Barbadian buccaneer who died in 1844, relatives said.
Ernesta was a talented pianist who performed in a recital with other children at Carnegie Hall when she was 13. She graduated from the High School of Music and Art (now the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music Art and Performing Arts) in Manhattan. Enrolling at Brooklyn College, she left after a year to marry Albin Bowman and handle the insurance for his real estate business. She also studied at the Pohs Institute of Insurance.
After Mr. Bowman died in 1952, she founded E.G. Bowman the following year.
She married John L. Procope, an advertising executive, whom she had met on a blind date, in 1953. He became publisher of The Amsterdam News and remained in the position until 1982, when he joined E.G. Bowman as chairman.
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/09/business/ernesta-procope-dead.html
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