Adrienne Jacqueline Davis

Adrienne Jacqueline Davis was born on January 3, 1951, at Jamaica Hospital in Queens, New York, to Joseph Davis and Helen Mae Davis. A proud product of New York City public schools, she graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School and went on to study culinary arts at Medgar Evers College and Education at Brooklyn College — a foundation that would shape a life dedicated to nourishing and nurturing others.

Adrienne began her career with the New York City Board of Education, serving as an assistant educator in the math departments of PS 221 and PS 138. After retiring from the DOE in the early ’90s, she pivoted with purpose — joining Primerica Financial Services, directing St. Luke’s After School Program in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and founding her own after-school program, Good Success Kaleidoscope.

Her community footprint was undeniable. She served as a Girl Scout leader, president of the PS 76 Coalition — now the George Walker Jr. Community Coalition — and was a member of Operation Power, an organization dedicated to grooming the next generation of elected officials. A long-time member of Grace Baptist Church, she served faithfully as a missionary and on the kitchen committee. Ask anyone who ever tasted her pound cake or red velvet cake and they’ll tell you — that ministry was serious. She also served at St. Paul’s Community Church in Brooklyn, helping facilitate MAAF sweat lodge ceremonies. After relocating to Connecticut, Adrienne became a devoted member of CFM Hartford and Faith Revolution in East Hartford, attending both morning and evening prayer lines without fail.

Adrienne is survived by her children Jeru Davis and Salema Davis, her grandchild Yeshi Palmer, and six siblings: Levy Moore (Jillian), Debra White (James), Clinton Peters (Sharon), Yvette Gist (Mark), Grace Wallace (Albert Reyes), and Valerie Peters. She also leaves behind her twin-sister cousin Orelia Jaslin, aka Madrina, and her two sisters from another mother, Phyllis Quinones and Carolyn Washington. Her legacy lives on through a beloved circle of nieces and nephews — Nikengie Staten, Natasha Ebanks (Laquan), Michelle Lynch, Tyshawn Davis (Lizett), Tyona Lynch, Genisha Metcalf (Lamar), Tanequa Davis, Naquan Davis, Adia Gist, Omari Gist, and Robert Blandford — along with a host of great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, and extended family too vast and too loved to count.

She will be deeply missed by all who knew her. Adrienne lived by two simple truths she shared with anyone who would listen: “Pay attention and be alert.” And as sure as you ran into her — whether you were family, a friend, or a complete stranger minding your own business at the grocery store — she had one final question for you:

“Do you have life insurance?”

A Funeral Service will be held at Newkirk & Whitney Funeral Home, 318 Burnside Ave, East Hartford, CT 06108, US, on May 16, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm.