My Day Comer: The Ultimate Philanthropist

In 1970, Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou have best selling books on the market. The Beatles break up. The 5th Dimension have the number one album of the year. Comer Cottrell opens Proline Corporation. He is 38.

In the June 1979 Black Enterprise issue of Top 100: the Nation’s Leading Black Businesses, Proline Corporation is listed as number 44 up from number 35 on the list. Chief officer is listed as Comer J. Cottrell, with company location in Carson, California. The company is listed as manufacturer of cosmetics/hair care. The list, in financial order, based on previous year sales, is bordered by Conyers Ford, Inc., Detroit, Michigan and Smith Oil Corporation, Indianapolis, Indiana. The historic move of Proline Corporation’s world headquarters to Dallas was physically complete and operational by this date. He is 47.

After reading one of my ‘Dear Comer Letter Series’, just this week, a young lady called to tell share her “Comer Cottrell Story”. Ms. Toni Robinson, was a student in Houston “some years ago”, and won a scholarship to Texas Southern University one summer, sponsored by Proline Corporation. In her own words “it made a difference in my life” and I just wanted you to know. Toni and I continued to chat.

It was my sad commentary to inform her that Mr. Cottrell died just days ago. He was 82.

The Dear Comer Letter Series sparked a litany of calls from former students now self producing adults about Comer’s generosity and unmatched “affection for mankind”. One of my emails called him a ‘real rare jewel – he openly and knowingly shared his wealth’. He is now ageless.

Plainly put without all the fanfare, here lies a man who was blessed to make money. For the record, from the beginning, he spent it in large sums on layers of education around the world with people that looked like him, while touching humanity in ways that will never be measured.