Services were held PRIVATE by Family.
Final arrangements were entrusted to Anderson-Ragsdale Mortuary.
KIM DIANE ALEXANDER-MANSON was born beautiful. Barely five feet tall, hair flowing to her waist, she em-bodied star quality; unbound charisma; a genuineness, sassiness and flair; strong-willed but tolerant.
At eight years old, she was summoned from a crowd of children in Nickerson Gardens to shake the hand of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during his visit to South-Central Los Angeles. Age ten, she’d be invited on stage to dance with Diana Ross at a Motown Revue concert; and later, the Hollywood movie star, Debbie Reynolds, would brush Kim’s hair at a movie location where select St. Jude’s students were cast to participate in a made-for-TV movie.
Kim’s calling was to sing, possessing the powerhouse vocals of any R&B songbird. In her late teens and 20s, she used her skills alongside a few local bands, and was a member of Christ the King Catholic Church choir. At holiday functions, she’d belt out her favorite tunes, Aretha Franklin’s Doctor Feel Good, to satisfaction all.
Born December 19, 1957, to Adeline Collier and Lorraine Alexander, Kim would rule the roost while her mother was ever working. Kim served as confidante and protector to her younger brother, Berry Andrew Alexander who preceded her in death, and sisters, Leslie Ann Pounds and Sonja Monique Taylor-Banks. She played the big sister role to her brothers-in-law, David Pounds, who was called home in 2020, and Adrian Banks.
Kim was a talented soul; a Renaissance woman with varied professional experiences. She honed her secretarial skills at Kelsey Jenney Business College to later manage the administrative end at Eldorado Sandblasting Company and Stanley Kaplan Test Prep.
Kim found her greatest sense of accomplishment in motherhood. She adored Jasmyn Martinique Baker (her Jazzy Wazzy) and James Mitchell Manson (her Buddha). Those two meant everything to her.
Being grandma, “Nana Kim,” affectionately called by her tribe, brought her joy. Charles, Ley’la, Steven, Jastyn, James Carlos, and Dylan each possess a precious piece of their Nana Kim. She also was loved by a host of nieces and nephews who couldn’t get enough of their crazy, cool Auntie Kim. Kim believed firmly in the higher power of God.
