Nineteen

Marva, Roland, Patrick, Dason, Stacie, Roland, Jr., Zoe, Gwendolyn, Mecca, Sage, Roland II, Latoya, Jerome, Valerie, Ayden and Sarah.  In front Alano - Missing: Paris and Corrina

Each year, we celebrate the coming of Spring and the renewal of our affirmation in this life.  There are only two persons missing from this family photo, one of the first we have done in years, Paris, who is in college in NC and Corrina, who is with her father.  We may not have buried any hatchets, but we had a great time.  In the morning we prayed together, afterwards we played and talked; then we broke bread at a great meal.  This is where we say most humbly, thank you, Frances, We love and miss you, Happy Easter

     

 

 

           

Dear Frances -Yet another New Year - 2015

So much has happened in the past 19 years, since you transcended.

 Today is LaToya's youngest, Corrina's Birthday. Our newest member of the family (that I am aware of) is Ayden, Sarah's son has a birthday in May,  he will be 1. Yes, Valerie is an abuela.

 Paris and youngest Roland are completing their first year of college. Dason is about to enter his senior year of high school. Alano turns 6 this year and Sage will be two (maybe three). Zoe and Jerome are headlong into to entering/finishing (respectively) middle school.  Yes, ALL of your grandchildren are parents and that adds up to nine great grands!

 We have added quite a bit of knowledge about our family history, we even met a cousin of ours, Myrna Ware-Day, who lives in Olympia, Washington and her brother, Harold Ware, who lives in Hawaii.  These are members of one of you Great-Grandmother's family.

Yes, in the last few years, we have discovered much about our august family, your father was actually born in 1899 (not 1902), and the actual Company your grandfather served in during the Indian Wars, was Company C, 10th Cavalry, he was a member of the Buffalo Soldiers serving in Texas. We discovered that one of our Great - Great Grandfathers, on the Moore side, served in the Civil War in the Union Army. This is definitely a story to be told.

We have loss a few of the family: Cousin Petey, Cousin Avis, Cousin Fannie, Cousin Calvin and Uncle Richard, . Jesse is now 88, holding his own so to speak, and Marva's sister and brother-in-law as well. Grace is now 83 and Stanley is 91. Your children now all have grand children, yes that's nine great Grands. We now have more information about where our family originated from in West Africa, Europe and early North America.

As we enter this the twentieth year, since you passed, we have much more to learn and share.  We must also work on our relationships, so that they are lasting and fruitful.

Our Matriarch Grace G. Sprow

Avis, Stanley and Grace

Avis, Stanley, Roland and Grace

Created by Sarah M. Lewis

Jasper Dewey Garnette, Jr. Goes Home

Mom, Junior (Jasper D. Garnette, Jr.), who lived to be 75, the son of, your parents, the late Jasper D. Garnette, Sr. and Sarah A. Garnette, passed away Monday, June 20, 2011 at Mary Washington Hospital. He will reunite with Melissa, his parents, you his sister, and brother, Robert.

As you know, he attended and graduated from Walker-Grant High School in Fredericksburg. Following high school, Jasper served in the United States Army from 1953-1956. After returning home, he worked at the Fredericksburg FMC Plant as an accountant. After the FMC Plant closed, he was employed by Motion Control for 14 years. He retired from Motion Control in 1997. Yes, we are proud to say that Jasper was an Accounting graduate of Germanna Community College and a Computer Technology graduate from Strayer University.

Jasper was a long-time active member of Shiloh Baptist Church (Old Site), before becoming a member of Mt. Hope Baptist Church in Fredericksburg, where his wife, Ernestine "Teen", is a longtime member. While at Old Site and Mt. Hope, Jasper was a dedicated member of the Men’s Choir. Jasper was an avid Redskins fan and he enjoyed playing Bid Whist with his Bid Whist partners.

Jasper is survived by his dedicated wife of 54 years, Ernestine Williams Garnette; his loving daughter, Kimberly Daniels; one loving sister, Grace G. Sprow; four grandchildren, Donté Garnette (whom he raised) (and his wife, Nikki), Thomas Daniels, Jasine Washington, and Kamaron Washington; great grandchildren; and a host of nephews, nieces, cousins and beloved friends, and a special God-son Barry Robinson.

You, Uncle Robert, Nannie, Granddaddy and Melissa, please take good care of him, help him see the light and the beauty of his life.

Sarah is added

Well Mom,

Today, we added Sarah Maya to the bloggers heaven. It was a labor to fix her computer but I think it is okay now. We will see. We can visit here blog at notes4sarah.blogspot.com

Great News

A couple of nights ago, I was asked a question, so poignant was the question that it lets you know that, yes life does go on, we continue.

A young man asked for our child's hand in marriage. I doubt that I have been that nervous in years.

Most would say I thought, Thank God, but no.... I was truly glad for him. She's a great person, and has come into her own in this life.

It's strange in our family, someone passes another is born or a union of happiness happens, how truly grateful I am to have been here, now, to witness this.

Frances, you would like him, of that, I am sure.

Dear Frances

It is little told that the richness of a life is that of those who will go there after. I have been and will continue to be blessed. Decisions that we are confronted with make us, mold us, forge us to be who we are in those waning years of our lives. Do I hide away from what I have done or live in its richness? I mean not wealth, in the sense of money, but wealth in the sense of being.

Are you happy that you are loved? Can you live with ..........you?

Dearest Frances will continue to be here long after departing this physical life. I am now sure that Belle, Rebecca, James Matthew, Sarah, Reuben, Jasper, Alease, Alberta, Mattie, Revie, James, Phillip, Lloyd and a host of others I have yet to discover are a part of me now. But life's lessons from Frances will endure, I now know.

Dear Frances, It is true!

My mother believed in what this country could be. She believed so much that she was willing to use her children as weapons of change. What mattered was that it couldn't stay the same. I, now wonder, what would she have thought, would she have cried to see what has happened in her country?

She believed. And because of that belief, so do I. I never questioned, or wondered why, I just believed, in spite of all the negative that I experienced, I have gained immensely for that experience.

I became a teacher, not because I couldn't "do", but because I had to share and influence, let others know; Frances gave me an incredible gift.

I could learn, and we all realized that I am no different, I, as you, improve through learning.