Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday May 5, 2018, at Eternal Hills Funeral Home with the Reverend Clayton Williams officiating. Burial will follow at Eternal Hills Memory Gardens. Arrangements under the direction of Eternal Hills Funeral Home.
Letha was born in Westmoreland, Jamaica to Ida and Nathaniel Van Horne on January 22, 1930. As a youth, she was educated in Westmoreland. There, she developed a deep love and respect for education and ended up teaching at New Works All Age School in Westmoreland, Jamaica for 5 years. She moved to England to pursue a degree in Nursing. She graduated from the Oxford School of Nursing. She worked as a nurse at Birmingham General Hospital in Birmingham, England and later, at Mercy Hospital in Springfield, MA devoting over 40 years of her life to caring for others. She moved to the United States in 1968 traveling from England aboard The Queen Mary I. During her time at Mercy Hospital, she became Head Nurse of the 5th floor. She retired from nursing in 1995 and would spend much of her time caring for her grandchildren, visiting relatives and traveling. She loved to travel by air and by sea and was a frequent passenger on cruise ships around the Caribbean. She loved to cook with lamb being one of her signature dishes and owning the honor of baking one of the best carrot cakes in the world. She was an avid lover of animals and owned a couple of Doberman Pinchers- Damian and Thor respectively.
She loved to shop with Lord & Taylor, J.C. Penny, and Macy’s fragrance counter being her favorite spot to make purchases. She loved to garden and had a yard full of flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs. She loved to spend time enjoying the outdoors, often spending time walking with friends in Forest Park in Springfield, MA.
Letha is preceded in death by her daughter Carol Van Horne, of Springfield, MA, her brother Shirley Van Horne, of Springfield, MA and her sister Gwendolyn Van Horne of Westmoreland, Jamaica.
Letha is survived by her son, Steven George Van Horne, and his wife Tina Van Horne of Atlanta, GA, her sister, Clarine Van Horne of Portmore, Jamaica, grandson, Steven Anthony Spencer of Springfield, MA, grandson Terrell David Van Horne of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Letha Van Horne, Dayshanell Hewitt, Dorian Long, and Gloriela Pineda, all of Atlanta, GA, 8 great-grandkids and a host of family , friends, nieces and nephews far and wide that loved her do dearly.
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