Chantal Rita Lucille Graham

Chantal Rita Lucille Pennyfeather (age 60) was born on March 20, 1966 to loving parents Valerie and Ridley Pennyfeather in St. John’s, Antigua. She was the only child born to her mother and would eventually become one of three children born to her father, including Nadia and Bryan Pennyfeather.

For a large part of her childhood, Chantal was raised by her beloved maternal grandparents, Charity and Fitzgerald Downes. She revered them and would always speak fondly of the ways they cared for her. 

Chantal was quite entrepreneurial as a child. On weekend mornings, she would gather fruits and her blanket and head to the market to sell to the locals.

At 11 years old, Chantal moved from her cherished Antiguan village of Clare Hall to Jacksonville, Florida. It was in the Pottsburg complex that she would meet her lifelong friends and the future godmothers of her children.

Chantal attended Englewood High School, where she spent her mornings. Any additional time was spent at the local skills center building her sewing skills and displaying her designs in the student fashion shows. In 1983, she gave birth to her bouncy and carefree boy, André Cymone Sumpter. Chantal would eventually graduate from Samuel W. Wolfson High School in 1985. 

One night in 1989, Chantal would go out for a dance at Jazzco. It was there that she would meet her future husband of 28 years, Martin Bancroft Graham. In 1993, Chantal would go on to give birth to their darling and imaginative girl, Méon Martika Graham.

Throughout her life, Chantal enjoyed traveling and shopping. Whether she was flying to Canada or the Caribbean to see family or just going for a long drive, traveling was what made her feel at ease. As for shopping, that was what helped her express her vibrant spirit. To this day, there was not one color she would not or could not wear.

Chantal cherished her career. She spent years at Humana Health Plans before transitioning to childhood education. Prior to her tenure at LaVilla School for the Arts, she held roles like room mom, concessions volunteer at football games, extended day teacher, and paraprofessional for ESOL students. She enjoyed spending her days around children and always left the little ones she encountered feeling seen and protected. In 2004, she joined the staff at LaVilla as the office assistant, welcoming guests, managing the production and supply rooms, and supporting teachers and students alike. In 2020, she retired from the performing arts middle school, leaving behind a legacy of care, softness, strength, kindness, humor, safety, warmth, love and light.

In 2020, Chantal was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia that would progressively affect her memory and her speech. Currently incurable, she would fight the disease until she took her last breaths on May 11, 2026.

Chantal’s pride and joy in life were her children. There was not a day that went by when she could not talk about her son’s football games, her daughter’s performances, and eventually her grandchildren’s births. While her children were in school, she extended her love to the friends of her son and daughter. They would eventually refer to her as a second mom, Mama, Ms. Shawn, and Mama Graham. It is through her children that her legacy and brightness extend to all.

Chantal was preceded in death by her mother, Valerie Downes. She is survived by her husband, Martin, her children, Andre (Tiffani) and Méon, her grandchildren, Dreyden, Aaliyah, and Raegan, her father, Ridley (Catherine) Pennyfeather and her siblings, Nadia and Bryan Pennyfeather.

Visitation will be held at Hardage - Giddens Greenlawn Funeral Home, 4300 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207, US, on May 22, 2026, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

A Funeral Service will be held at Hardage - Giddens Greenlawn Funeral Home, 4300 Beach Blvd, Jacksonville, FL 32207, US, on May 23, 2026, at 11:00 am.