Roberta
Roberta is my sister-in-law. She was born in the verdant countryside of North Carolina. In the place of her earthly beginnings, she learned that family is important and equally important is being a part of a loving community. Roberta McCarthy, Nee Harris came to the bustling New York City with her values intact and kept them for the rest of her life there in that bustling metropolis.
She was soft spoken and a woman of few words, yet her commitment once given was never withdrawn. Seated within her values is a generosity that was unparalleled, and an attraction which drew into her life a new family, which grew with every person she took into her heart. She found community within the Jamaican community, she loved them, and they loved her in return. Living within that Jamaican community was her husband, my brother Clement. Having found the love of her life she. became one with his family. Clement's mother became her mother, his daughter, Barbara, her daughter, his Grandchildren her grandchildren, and me her sister.
When our mother was ill, Robert gave her the care only a daughter could. For that act alone I will forever be grateful she came into our family and became one of us. Roberta extended her family by other means besides being married into it. She did so by including coworkers, Miss Carmen and her sisters, the precocious young person from the apartment downstairs, Tatiana, along with the caregiver who took care of Clement in his final days, Nicole. There are too many members of her grand extended family to mention here. The final member Roberta plugged into her grand extended family is Clement's son Lloyd, discovered by her only after his father passed away. To that big warm heart, we say goodbye holding close in our hearts all the love you shared with us.
Thank you beloved.
Roberta and Clement, my beloved brother and sister on their wedding day May 1st, 1981
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