Kimberly Ravenell

Kimberly Ravenell was born on February 13, 1966 in Philadelphia, PA to the late Leonard G Corbitt and Bertha Lee Corbitt (nee Ravenell).  She was the youngest of 7 children.  Kimberly got familiar with God at an early age while attending New Calvary Baptist church.  

Kimberly received her formal education in the Philadelphia public school system.  She played basketball and graduated from Thomas Edison High School with a partial scholarship for her basketball skills in 1984.  

Open to exploration, Kimberly packed her things and headed to South Carolina for college.  She attended Benedict College where she learned about budgeting, profit and loss and most importantly, marketing - 

all while fulfilling her scholarship obligations playing the GUARD position.  

When she returned to Philadelphia in the summer of '90, she returned with a bachelors degree in Economics and Business Administration awarded to her on May 12, 1990.

Basically.....  She was the most dangerous kind of woman.   A woman that was used to being the nucleus of the team. She knew how/when to throw an assist, when to rally the crowd.  She knew what to say and do - even if it wasn't popular or understood.  She understood her position and she assumed it and took responsibility for the wins and the losses.  All the qualities of a strong

point guard is exactly what she brought home and deployed for her family.  IRREPLACEABLE

The Teenage Years

Kimberly aka "Granny" got her nickname for the iconic glasses she wore as a kid.  A testament to her personality, she owned the name and adopted the moniker as her official nickname and began introducing herself as such.

Granny as a teen could be found skating, trying to sing, dancing (EVEN TAP DANCING!) and playing basketball. She won the HOTSHOT contest in Philly for making a long-range jumpshot.  Another hobby Granny had was staying fly. You would always catch her in the latest fashions from Gazelle, Eddie Bauer, Gloria Vanderbilt, Calvin Klein, Guess? and others.  Plus, she kept the flyest sneakers from Nike to Adidas to Chuck Taylors.  She also had all the best rap tapes.  You would catch her hitting the rewind button on her boom box trying to get the steps right for her dances.  When Granny graduated from high school

she had a huge graduation party in her basement with all the newest rap songs.

The College Graduate

Armed with a degree, a broader sense of the world and a sense of responsibility for her family - Kimberly got right down to business... Literally.  Her first order was to establish a candy and 

hotdog stand that she had her nieces run. During this time, she began working for an event setup firm.  She enjoyed meeting new people as Granny loved to talk and learn.  As her employer's company grew, Granny

brought in more family members to take advantage of being able to get a job and a paycheck.  Defying rules and demonstrating how much she loved family (her 8th & Diamond family too), she even got the minor children

lined up with jobs and vouched for them with their parents.  Teaching them to spend their paychecks wisely and save money, she'd say, "Don't let that dollar burn a whole in your pocket".  

Granny stayed with this work for about 5 years and it would be the 1st and last time she'd work for anyone else.

The Ultimate Hustler

"IMMA BIG CHICK, BUT MY POCKETS WEIGH THE SAME" 

- Kim aka Granny aka Eazy

If she thought it, sometimes, she'd write it.  One thing for sure... she was going to execute it.  Kim was good for the belief, DON'T TALK ABOUT IT, BE ABOUT IT.  Kim was fearless, outspoken, opinionated, calculated, persuasive, charming, charismatic, clever and risk-taking.  If you were a teenager in the 90's, then you knew about Granny's $1 parties!  Granny brought to Philly what was popping in SC.  She'd ask her sister (Mitzi) to make her flyers for the parties and would hand them out, leave them at stores and get the word of mouth out.  The whole neighborhood would show up with their $1s and would party until about 3am.  Granny would continue these parties until the culture changed and the dynamics of her target clientele became different.  Like the hustler she was, she noticed her clientele was moving toward staying in and watching movies, so she found a way to capitalize off of this new opportunity.  Granny would repeat this for every new fad and change that her target market went through.  When Puffy started promoting ghetto fabulous - Granny went out and started selling Chanel and Gucci bags, Polo and Tommy Hilfiger gear and Timberlands. A pioneer, she was one of the first to setup a retail stand in a residential neighborhood and flourish.  Granny had a knack for finding a way to capitalize off of every emerging market in the inner city.  Granny used to sell "look-a-like" Sergio Tacchini sweatsuits and sell them completely out.  Granny would have several businesses in operation at the same time and would know the numbers on each of them to the penny. She also knew who owed her and how much was owed to the penny too.  SHE DEFINITELY CAPITALIZED OFF OF AND PUT THAT DEGREE IN ECONOMICS TO WORK.  From her candy stand at the corner of 8th & Diamond to her clothing boutique at the corner of 8th & Susquehanna to her CD and DVD stand 

at Kurth's Seafood on 9th & Susquehanna, Granny loved her community.  Through her strategic locations and sought after product, Granny was inadvertently placed in a position where she was able to broker a lot of truces for ongoing "beefs".  A hustler and a hood politician, Granny knew how to "politic" and create win-wins for everyone.

Aunt Kim

To know Aunt Kim is to know that she was BIG on family!  She was always around and available if you needed someone to talk to.  Aunt Kim loved her nieces and nephews, but did not play about their education.  She was a stickler and strong-willed.  She was determined to make sure she exhausted all of her efforts to prevent them from the fates that she knew existed and became reality all too often for way too many.  She would often repeat many of times to her

nieces and nephews, "I GOT MINE, NOW YOU GET YOURS".  Kim would sit with any of her nieces and nephews while they did their homework and would gladly offer to help solve their problems or would gladly whoop them if she knew 

they weren't applying themselves to the best of their abilities.  She loved her mother affectionately and unconditionally.  Knowing the load her mother had, Aunt Kim would step in and provide for her nieces and nephews so seamlessly, that they'd never know that there was a point of lack.  Aunt Kim started a tradition of getting her nieces and nephews Christmas gifts that she would pick out and they would not have a say in what it was.  As much as this was never established or spoken of as a tradition, if you asked any of them, they will tell you they loved being surprised by what she'd present each and every year.  Aunt Kim's house was also the birthplace of our Thanksgiving tradition.  She loved hosting Thanksgiving at her house.  Talking about paying your fare... she paid her fare plus more.  Aunt Kim appreciated family.  She looked forward to the little things... especially from her siblings.  She loved her sister Niecy braiding and platting her hair.  She loved when her sister Mitzi would cook for her and bake cakes and pies.  They also used to go shopping together. She was partners in crime with her brothers Tracy and Loman on their missions.  She regularly spoke with her brother Eric and would laugh with him when he would share his crazy stories about things he'd do while riding his bike.  Aunt Kim loved family events 

and would be one of the last to leave if she would leave at all.  She especially loved her Casino party for her 50th birthday.  Her nieces and nephews got the opportunity to give her her flowers at her 50th birthday and to let her know 

just how much she meant to them and just how well they knew her.  Her nieces, nephews and siblings are comforted in knowing that their aunt and sister knew they loved her, appreciated her, appreciated the memories they created together and will remember lessons she taught them and demonstrated for them.

Kimberly was preceded in death by her father: Leonard G Corbitt and mother Bertha Lee Corbitt (nee Ravenell).

Granny leaves behind her (2) sisters, Mitiz and Denise; (4) brothers, Leonard, Loman, Eric,Tracey;  (16) nieces ; (14) nephews; and host of great nieces, great nephews, aunts, uncles cousins, family and friends. 

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