Beryl Thompson-Fletcher

Today we gather to celebrate and give thanks for the life of Beryl Isadora Thompson-Fletcher, affectionately known as Dickey by her sisters - a woman whose life was marked by faith, family, service, strength, dignity, and love.

Beryl was born on July 28, 1939, in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, to Wesley Allen and Isabel Baker Allen. She grew up in Jamaica in a close and protective family. Her parents cared deeply for their children and encouraged them to remain close to home and to one another. Those early values of family, discipline, respect, and togetherness remained with Beryl throughout her life.

Her formal education began in Jamaica and continued after she came to the United States. Beryl pursued a career of service and became a Registered Nurse, training in New York and working at St. John's Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, New York. Nursing suited the woman she was: hardworking, compassionate, dependable, disciplined, and committed to caring for others. She was respected for her strong work ethic and the dignity with which she carried herself. Even in her senior years, Beryl remained eager to learn and took computer classes, showing that her curiosity and willingness to grow never left her.

While living in New York, Beryl married her first husband, Keeling Thompson. Their union was blessed with her two beloved sons, Dervan and Stanley Thompson. Sadly, Keeling died suddenly, bringing an unexpected season of loss into her life. Yet Beryl's resilience and faith helped carry her forward.

Later, after relocating to Florida, another beautiful chapter began. At the Lakeland Seventh-day Adventist Church, Beryl met Frank Fletcher. The family remembers an immediate connection - love at first sight. Beryl was not content to let that special encounter disappear; with the help of her friends, she searched for Frank until she found him again. Their friendship blossomed into love, and they were married. Frank became well loved by her children, and their marriage was a cherished part of Beryl's life.

Beryl was predeceased by her parents, Wesley and Isabel Allen; her husbands, Keeling Thompson and Frank Fletcher; and her sisters, Nora Allen Cooley and Nellie Allen Bennett. She is survived by her beloved brother, Herbert Allen; her devoted sons, Dervan and Stanley; her cherished grandchildren, Dervan Jr., Damian, Deron, Stanley Thompson Jr., and Melanie Thompson; one great-

grandchild; her special nieces, Janet and Juliet; her beloved dog, BJ; and many other nieces, nephews, relatives, church family, and friends who loved her dearly.

Beryl was truly a woman who loved and was loved. Family was one of the great treasures of her life. Her love for her children was deep and unmistakable, but her heart embraced the whole family circle - her grandchildren, great-grandchild, brother, nieces, nephews, and extended relatives. She was family-oriented, encouraging, protective, and devoted.

Those who knew Beryl remember a woman who was resilient, honest, respectful, dignified, faithful, dedicated, loyal, and Christlike. She was a visionary and a disciplinarian, yet she was forgiving and did not hold grudges. She believed in doing things properly and doing them well. Beneath her quiet dignity was a delightful sense of humor. She loved a good joke, and her contagious laughter brought joy to those around her.

Beryl embraced the saying, "Seeds are the evidence of faith." She lived that thought in a very practical way through her love of gardening. She worked faithfully in both her vegetable and flower gardens, planting, tending, nurturing, and waiting with hope for what would grow. Her garden reflected something of her own life - faith, patience, care, and the expectation that what is lovingly planted will one day bear fruit.

She was generous as well, supporting many charitable causes, including St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Helping others was another expression of her caring spirit.

Beryl's Christian faith shaped every part of her life. She served faithfully at the Palm Coast Seventh-day Adventist Church as a deaconess and Sabbath School recorder. She baked bread for Communion, sang soprano, served as a greeter, participated in senior citizens ministry, and joined the visitation group. She visited the sick and shut-ins, helped with community care in Palm Coast, and faithfully served on the Blessed Hope Prayer Line.

Music was also part of her ministry. Beryl loved to sing and played the accordion. During visits to hospitals and nursing homes, she would play the accordion while her husband, Frank, joined her on the harmonica. Together they brought music, encouragement, and joy to people who needed it.

One spiritual subject especially captured her heart: Bible prophecy and the end-time message of the Seventh-day Adventist faith. Her devotions often centered on the signs of the times, the Second Coming of Jesus, and the importance of being ready for His return. For Beryl, this was not simply a subject to discuss; it was a hope to live by. She wanted her children, grandchildren, family, and friends to know Jesus, remain faithful, and be prepared to meet Him.

Beryl loved music, sewing, traveling, and especially cruises. She also loved returning to visit her homeland, Jamaica. These were some of the simple pleasures that brought happiness and richness to her life.

She was a great cook, and cooking was one of the ways she expressed her love. She was especially known for her rice and peas. Among the foods she enjoyed were fried dumplings, salmon, beef patties, oxtail, curry goat, and pizza. Family dinners were important to her because they brought the people she loved together around one table.

Her tender heart also extended to her beloved dog, BJ. She loved BJ dearly and spoiled her treasured companion with affection and an abundance of treats.

Beryl's choice of music also revealed the depth of her faith. She specifically requested that two hymns be played at her funeral: "It Is Well with My Soul" and "Lord, I'm Coming Home." Those choices speak powerfully of a woman who trusted God through life's joys and sorrows and who looked forward to her eternal home.

As Beryl's health declined, the strength of her faith and the depth of her love became even more visible. During a visit with her in the hospital, we did not simply sing with her; we worshiped together. We prayed, we sang, and we shared precious moments of fellowship. Beryl laughed with us and cried tears of joy because she was so grateful that we had come to see her. One of the songs especially dear to her, and one she sang with us in the hospital, was Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd."

We went to the hospital hoping to encourage Beryl, but in many ways, she encouraged us. Her prayer requests, her worship, her gratitude, her singing, and her steadfast faith left a lasting impression on our hearts.

In the final hours of her earthly life, Beryl's thoughts remained centered on her family. She called for her boys, and especially for her son Stanley. Even as her strength faded, she was thinking about the people she loved. It was a final and powerful testimony to the place her children and family held in her heart.

Beryl remained grateful to the end and later rested peacefully in hospice. Her life had touched so many through nursing, family, friendship, church service, prayer, music, hospitality, generosity, and faith.

A woman of strength.

A woman of dignity.

A woman of prayer.

A woman of faith.

A woman who served.

A woman who loved and was loved.

Beryl often spoke about the return of Jesus and the resurrection hope. It is therefore fitting that the family now holds on to the very hope she cherished. Her deepest desire was not simply to reach God's eternal kingdom herself, but to see the people she loved there with her. And so, to her beloved sons, Dervan and Stanley; to her grandchildren, Dervan Jr., Damian, Deron, Stanley Thompson Jr., and Melanie; to her great-grandchild; her brother Herbert; her special nieces Janet and Juliet; her beloved dog BJ; her nieces, nephews, and the entire family: never forget how deeply Beryl loved you. May the faith that sustained her continue to live in you. Hold firmly to Jesus and remain faithful, so that by God's grace, when that glorious resurrection morning comes, you may be reunited with her. What a joyful family reunion that will be.

Rest peacefully, dear Beryl, until the Life-Giver calls you forth.

Your work is finished, but your love, your faith, and your legacy remain.