Agnes Burton Augustine, 92, was one of ten children born to Vivian Butts Burton and Robert Lawrence Burton. After graduating from Akron South High School, she enrolled at the University of Akron's School of Education while working at Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company. Upon graduation, she worked as a Master Reading Specialist, teaching elementary school for more than 40 years. In 1960, she united in her second marriage to Thomas Augustine, Chairman of the US Department of Labor's Chicago Regional Staff Committee and the first Negro to hold such an office. The couple lived in Pittsburgh and Washington, DC before settling in the Chicagoland area, where she obtained a Master of Arts degree from the University of Chicago. Upon retirement, Agnes was able to realize several latent ambitions: she and her husband raised and raced Siberian Huskies, she became an accomplished photographer of birds and plants, a 'musher' and a certified organic gardner. Her fruits and vegetables were sought after by several prominent restaurants, grocery and health food stores, while her Beecher, IL farm was the source of many family gatherings and memories that will last a lifetime. The couple were also staunch supporters and involved participants in numerous environmental issues. They worked diligently to push for local and national legislation that regulated the distribution of waste, and the closure of toxic landfills. As an active volunteer for Public Action to Deliver Shelter (PADS), Agnes and her husband were dedicated to the homeless and worked to provide them with a warm place to sleep in their longtime church home, The Church of the Holy Family in Park Forest, IL. She was also a catalog model for the Carson Pirie Scott & Company, the Chicago based department store, a member of the NAACP, and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc. She will be sadly missed by her husband, son, Guy C. McCombs III PhD., four sisters, a granddaughter, and numerous family and friends. Visitation Thursday 2-4 p.m. at Church of the Holy Family 102 Marquette Street, Park Forest, Il Interment Private, Saturday, Akron Ohio Service Information Cemetery Private private private, IL 60466 --> Service Thursday May 9, 2013 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM Church of the Holy Family Sauk Trail & Orchard Park Forest, IL 60466 -->