03/25/2026
Roosevelt Sellers Jr.
Roosevelt Sellers Jr. was born on December 11, 1942, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, to Roosevelt Sellers Sr. and Olivia Tucker Sellers. He was born into a large, close-knit family that included his grandparents, William Tucker and Joanna Johnson Tucker, five aunts, and five uncles. His mother, Olivia, was the eldest sibling, and his Aunt Annie was just six months younger than him.
Roosevelt gave his life to Christ at an early age and was baptized in the Church of Christ, where his family worshiped. As a young boy, his grandfather and uncles taught him how to fish and hunt rabbits for supper. While there were struggles with so many mouths to feed, there was also an abundance of love and respect in the Tucker household. Everyone shared in daily chores, working together on the 83 acres of land his grandfather purchased to raise the family. This was something Roosevelt was always proud of. During a time when it was difficult for black families to own land, his family worked and maintained their own. That land remains in the family today as part of his enduring legacy.
As a teenager, Roosevelt attended Coahoma Agricultural High School, graduating with the Class of 1964. During his high school years, he was entrusted with the responsibility of driving a school bus, transporting both his classmates and his self to school. He often spoke of how earning an extra $35 a month allowed him to give his grandfather a few dollars, buy a couple pairs of pants, and still have a little left for a date night. Even as a young man, he understood that hard work could provide the things he wanted, a lesson he carried with him throughout his life. He realized a working man could get the things he wanted by the sweat of his own brow. He never forgot that lesson and would live by it all the days of his life. Roosevelt stood out on the basketball court with his 6’5” stature and strong presence. He enjoyed the game, spending time with friends, boxing, and going uptown to the theater to watch the latest western films for a dime.
These sources of entertainment remained some of his favorite pastimes throughout his life. After graduation, Roosevelt worked in transportation as a delivery driver, traveling routes as far as Florida to deliver goods. During that time, he also became the proud father for the first time to his eldest son, Roosevelt Henderson.
At the age of 24, Roosevelt moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, where he married Elizabeth Brooks, whom he had originally dated in Clarksdale. The couple were united in marriage on December 23, 1966, becoming life partners, best friends, and soulmates. Their union brought together not just two individuals, but two families. Together, they shared 27 years of love, mutual respect, family ties, stability, hard work and good times. From their union were born a son, Roosevelt Sellers III, and a daughter, Stephanie Denise Sellers. The laid-back yet driven and enthusiastic young man grew into a devoted husband, father, grandfather and a living example of integrity and strength. He led his family as a provider, protector and all-around blueprint of how a man should carry himself.
Roosevelt was employed by Stock & Wesley before beginning a long career with Cotter & Company, where he worked for 23 years until his retirement. He also worked part-time cleaning offices to ensure his family was always well provided for. To know Roosevelt was to know a man who deeply loved and valued his family and friends. He believed it wasn’t the quantity of relationships, but the quality and character of those around you that mattered most. He often said, “It’s not about who’s beside you when you up, look around to see who’s still standing there when the chips are down.” He cherished his lifetime unbreakable bonds with friends Charlie Sykes, Norman Merritt and William Redd. He would simply say “we’re like brothers and we’ve always been.”
Roosevelt Sellers Jr. transitioned from this life on March 11, 2026, at the age of 83 years and 3 months. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Elizabeth Sellers; his grandparents, William and Joanna Tucker; his father, Roosevelt Sellers Sr.; his mother, Olivia Tucker Sellers; his son, Roosevelt Sellers III; his uncles, William, Clarence, Lonnie, Robert, and Jessie Tucker; and his aunts, Elma, Ruth, and Loudella Tucker Washington. Brother-in-laws, W.D.Grace, Jeff Agnew, David Campbell and Alfred Brooks; Sister-in-laws Velita Sellers, Fredine Grace, Gallene Austin and Lucy Brooks.
He leaves to cherish his memory his son, Roosevelt Henderson (Patricia); his daughter, Stephanie Sellers; his grandsons, Larenzoe Sellers and Khalil Proctor; his granddaughters, Jennifer Thomas and Aaliyah Sellers; his great-grandsons, Lavon, Jaiden, and Kaiden Brown; his great-granddaughters, Jayla Talbert and Kamyla Sellers; his brothers, BJ, Leonard, and John Sellers; his sister, Queen Sellers Agnew; his brother-in-law, Herbert Quinn; his sisters-in-law, Mary Quinn and Annette Clark; and his youngest aunt, Annie Tucker Williams.
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