(Photo from crossesacrossamerica.org)
- Joe Dera and Sara Abraham recently passed away in Mississippi. Both had a global reach outside of the Magnolia State that should be celebrated.
Two people who had a significant impact on the cultural landscape of Mississippi have passed away recently.
Joe Dera
Joe Dera brought his love for music to Mississippi, embracing Delta blues.
A true American success story, Joe Dera was born in the Netherlands on January 23, 1951. His father was captured by the Nazis and sent to work in the coal mines. He was able to befriend an American G.I. who sponsored the immigration of the Dera family to the United States in 1956.
Speaking no English, Joe toiled through elementary school and, along the way, made friends, many of whom he remained close to until the day he died. After graduating high school in Clifton, New Jersey, Joe attended Morris County Community College, where he began writing a column for the Aquarian Weekly. He got a job at talent agency Wartoke Concern which in turn landed him a summer job at Track Records, the label for The Who, where he learned first-hand about record promotion by delivering singles like “Baba O’Reilly” to radio stations in the Midwest.
He then joined Rogers & Cowan, the world’s largest entertainment firm, as a press agent. He soon signed and represented such talents as David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Les Paul, the Bee Gees, George Benson, and Robert Palmer. Over the years, Joe represented a who’s who of music royalty, including Elton John, ZZ Top, Billy Joel, Queen, UB 40, Clint Black, Duran Duran, Foreigner, Ray Davies, Pink Floyd, Brian Wilson, the Scorpions, The Band, Alabama, and many more.
Joe’s PR work was behind some of the biggest events in the music industry, including Live Aid and Amnesty International. It was long-time client Robert Palmer who gave Joe the seed money to start his own agency, Dera and Associates, in 1989, where he represented McCartney, along with McCartney’s wife, Linda, and her many endeavors. He also represented Robert Plant, Patti LaBelle, and Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band.
After retiring in 2016, Joe and his wife, Madison, Mississippi native Suzanne Case, moved to Bentonia from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he realized yet one more dream… dogs! Joe and his wife rescued stray and abandoned dogs along the Mississippi Delta. He often said, “I have more dogs than I need and less than I want.”
Joe passed away at home in Bentonia on October 10.
Sara Abraham
The next time you’re out driving and see a set of three crosses (as shown above), remember Sara Abraham of Vicksburg, who passed away on October 6 in the home of her daughter, Angela Ladner.
Sara was a graduate of Henderson State University with double majors in English and Business Administration before moving to Vicksburg. She attended graduate school at Mississippi College.
Sara was on a mission from the Lord to preserve, maintain, and construct crosses across America’s interstates and major thoroughfares.
For the past 26 years, she was the Executive Director of Crosses Across America, Inc., a non-profit ministry. As a full-time volunteer, she oversaw some of the 1600+ volunteers who built and maintained some 2200+ sets of cross clusters internationally, in addition to the giant crosses standing some 110’ high.
Country singer Randy Travis recorded a song, “Three Wooden Crosses,” about Sara’s mission in 2002. The song became Travis’ final No. 1 single when it was released and was named Song of the Year in 2003 by the Country Music Association.
When asked the point of the crosses, Sara responded: “When people look at those three crosses, they have a decision to make. Will they accept Christ in their life? Some people drive past the crosses, and it won’t change anything, but for others, it may change everything. This ministry has changed my life for the better.”
