By OSWALD T. BROWN
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2019 – I arrived back in Washington, D.C. late last night (actually at 12:09 Tuesday morning) after spending more than six hours at Miami International Airport waiting for the departure of my flight. I was unable access the Internet with any degree of consistency in Nassau, so I didn’t mind the long layover because I was able to some work, particularly writing the AFRICA/CARIBBEAN NOW news feature that I compile weekly for The Washington Informer and usually send to Editor Kevin McNair on Sunday afternoons.
This trip back to The Bahamas, my home country, was a very sad occasion for me because it was specifically to attend the funeral of my aunt Maria Elliott-Forbes, who was instrumental in growing me up virtually from I was a baby, one of seven grandchildren raised by her parents, Ben and Mabel Elliott, at Stanyard Creek, Andros.
Aunt Maria, or “Sister” as we sometimes called her, was the youngest of Papa and Mama’s seven children, all of whom predeceased her. The others Clarence Elliott Sr., Israel “Lee” Elliott, Audley Elliott, Ashton Elliott, Violet “Baby” Elliott-Brown (my mother) and Amanda Elliott-Fox. So, Aunt Maria’s funeral was like a family reunion. The funeral service was held on Saturday, September 7 at Our Lady of the Holy Souls Roman Catholic Church, Deveaux Street, Nassau, which became the parish church of our family when we moved to Nassau from Stanyard Creek, Andros, in the early 1950s.
As noted in her printed obituary, “While growing up in her parents devotedly Roman Catholic home, Maria forged a strong sisterly bond with her niece, the late Sylvia Elliott Ross,” who predeceased her in 2012.
Continuing, the obituary states: “Maria delighted in enunciating clearly that she was from Stanyard Creek, Andros, where ‘ya don buck ya toe.’ It was in that settlement that she began her life-long teaching career as a monitor of Stanyard Creek All-Age School. After laying the foundation for her future educational pursuits there, she moved to New Providence.
“Her brother Clarence Elliott (pre-deceased) saw Maria’s passion for teaching and sponsored her attendance at Bennett College in North Carolina. Upon completion of college she returned home to continue her passion for teaching in earnest. Maria taught from elementary to high school throughout her career. During that time, she was courted by, and married, the late Leroy Forbes.
“Maria embraced opportunities to advance her professional qualifications studying in England for one year followed by studies in Culinary Arts and Home Economics at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
“Maria was very dedicated to her family, raising Alfred and Norma, who call her mummy, from the time they were brought to her as toddlers by their father. She created a loving home for them in Fleming Street and later moved the family to a beautiful home she built in Sands Sub-division. There she invited his sister Violet (pre-deceased) and her late niece Elthreada, whose children she raised as her own.
“Maria retired after forty-five-plus years of dedicated teaching in the Bahamian Public School System. In the years following, her former students often found opportunities to thank her for being such a dedicated teacher and disciplinarian.
“After retirement, Maria was not yet ready to stop working and so she joined the staff of The Bahamas Welding and Fire Company owned by her nephew Alphonso “Boogaloo” Elliott. There she forged a lasting friendship with Lenore Scott. She became the life of the office, creating laughter and giving commands.
“Maria loved travelling and upon full retirement, she and Syl travelled the world. In later years, Maria spent winters in Nassau with her niece Leonardette and summers in New York with her daughter Norma. Whether in New York or Nassau. She was one of the girls and the life of party.
“During her stay in Brooklyn, New York, this summer, Maria was hospitalized, where in the wee hours of the morning on 21st of August 2019 she went home to her Lord and Savior. She fought a good fight here on earth and she left her mark as witnessed by one of her attending physicians, who said of her, ‘Mrs. Forbes was an exceptional human being. Thank you for allowing me to take care of her. She has enriched my life and helped me to be a better caregiver for future patients.”
Aunt Maria’s funeral service was very well attended, and as noted in her obituary, following her retirement from teaching, former students often found opportunities to thank her for being such a dedicated teacher and disciplinarian. Several of them who over the years have publicly expressed appreciation to her for nurturing their early educational development were among those paying their final respects to their former teacher, including Lady Sharon Wilson and Patricia Thomas.
Aunt Maria’s body was interred in the Western Cemetery. I miss her tremendously. May her soul rest in peace.
