The following is a tribute to the late Cynthia East written by Coach Camille Jackson:
Cynthia Jackson East has been a Sonics supporter for 13 years, her daughter Joy joined the Sonics as a primary girl. Cynthia was there supporting Joy and any other child who had a desire to run track. Cynthia recruited like no other, she was worse than I on the recruiting scene. The first thing she would do was look at the legs of the individual and say, “I think that person would be a good runner, Hosea where are your cards?” Cynthia would not let anyone talk about the Sonics and she would give anyone the history of the team. She was always present for Joy and was there for anything we asked of her.
The word “NO” was not in her vocabulary. I would say, “no CE, I got this”, you could forget it. She would drive to Sam’s to pick up items for the track meet, go to the meat market to pick up the boudin, call me to tell me something was on sale for the picnic at the end of the year and she would place the items in her freezer. Cynthia would call Houston Parks and Recreation and book the park every year for the end of the year picnic. Cynthia would offer her room to girl athletes to spend the night if there were too many in my room and the athlete needed to run the next day. She had such great passion for the sport and for the Sonics athletes. She was just an awesome Sonics supporter. Even while lying in the hospital bed, Cynthia was recruiting for the Sonics.
We have lost a true Sonics supporter and a very dear friend to me and the Sonics Youth Track Club. She will always be a part of the team and I know she will always be cheering us on to continue to be role models and supporters of the youth today.
Here is Cynthia’s legacy posted by the funeral home handling her services.