Hope Elaine Alphonse

Hope was born in Jamaica on December 27, 1938, to George Brodie, a pharmacist and accomplished violinist, and Ivy Isola Edwards, a veteran educator who played an active role in the Methodist Church. She attended Excelsior High School, sponsored by the Methodist Church and founded by a pioneer educator, Dr. Wesley Powell. When she graduated from High School, she passed the prestigious civil service exam but was too young to be admitted officially. Eventually, she was recruited to assist in the effort to establish libraries across the island and spent her early career with Dr. Joyce Robinson, head of the Jamaica Library Service. Hope took particular interest in increasing access to communities in rural areas and to making literacy and education a priority. Later, she joined her husband Alford in England where she studied at Liverpool College of Commerce (now Liverpool John Moore’s University) and became a chartered librarian specializing in Children’s Literature.

Hope was a community builder with a fierce wit, curiosity for learning and zest for life. She enjoyed entertaining, Ikebana floral arrangement, music, and the New York Times Best Seller list. An avid gardener, she guarded her orchid collection in Florida and participated regularly in Orchid Society events and presentations. Eager to learn, she would pass along tips about how to nurture the soil, stimulate blooms and identify rare species.

She and her husband served Methodist congregations in the United Kingdom, Jamaica, Costa Rica, Panama, and the United States. During her years in Panama-Costa Rica, where Alford served as Chairman of the Panama-Costa Rica District of the Methodist Church, she taught English as Institute Pan Americano and Instituto Alberto Einstein. In Jamaica, Hope worked at the University of the West Indies and St. Andrew High School for Girls where she forged life-long friendships and expanded the school’s literacy curriculum. After migrating to the US in 1980, she served as Special Collections Librarian at Boston College Library and later went to College of the Holy Cross, when Alford was appointed District Superintendent for the Worcester Area. People knew and respected her quick intelligence, energy, and wisdom. She befriended all who wanted to contribute to making the world a better place. She was loving, kind, funny and generous. She built people up, so they could achieve their aspirations and excel. She celebrated the best and highest in life and in others. When her husband retired, they returned to Jamaica to serve the church there, and she went to the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI), to give service at the library there and share her expertise. This was a testament to her commitment to service and to the Methodist Church.

She believed fervently in the value of education and her never-ending refrain was, “They might come to steal your money, but they will never be able to steal what you carry in your head.”

Hope leaves behind brother Locksley (Curaçao) and Clarence (Ben) (Jamaica); children, Karen, Maureen (Jean-Bernard), Philip (Rene), and Frantz (Maria) (USA); grandchildren Ivy (Jared), Alexander, Isabelle, Zoe, Quincy, Grace, Ari, Ilan, and Simón; great grandchildren Wesley and Violet, nieces and nephews Nadine (Roger), Wesley, Junior, Lesley-Ann, Tonya, and a host of other relatives and friends. Her husband The Reverend Dr. Alford Alphonse predeceased her on October 8, 2022. Funeral arrangements to be announced.

Funeral Arrangements & Donations

April 3, 2025

Church Service: 10:30 a.m.

Epworth United Methodist Church

7651 Johnson Street

Pembroke Pines, FL 33024

Reception: 6:00 p.m.

The Bamboo Gallery

2325 South Flamingo Road

Davie, FL 33325

Donations

St. Andrew High School for Girls Foundation

The Foundation – St. Andrew High School for Girls