Compton : Former Councilman and Mayor Lionel Cade Dies

Lionel B. Cade, who served as mayor of Compton from 1977 to 1981, died last week and was buried Monday at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles.

Cade, 71, served on the council for nine years, beginning with an appointment in 1964. He was elected to a four-year term in 1965 and won reelection in 1969. According to Maxcy D. Filer, who was active with Cade in the NAACP, Cade was one of the first blacks to run for City Council.

In 1973, Cade mounted an unsuccessful campaign for mayor but four years later won the office and served a four-year term. Cade suffered from emphysema, and he and his wife, Gladys, spent the last years of his life in Stockton.

During his 21 years as a resident of Compton, Cade was president of the Chamber of Commerce, was active in the Rotary Club and was a board member of the National Council of Campfire. During World War II, he was a member of the U.S. Army’s first black paratroop battalion, the 555th. He also served in the Korean War.

For nine years, Cade was a field deputy for state Sen. Ralph C. Dills (D-Gardena).

An accountant by profession, he earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of San Francisco and a master’s from USC.

Besides his wife, Cade is survived by a son, Kevin, and two daughters, Frances I. Wilson and Katherine L. Taylor.