Petronella Adriana Fontanelle

Petronella Adriana Fontanelle was a fraternal twin, born in British Guiana on June 9th, 1931, to her parents, Hubert Alexander and Kathleen Elizabeth Lees. The family grew up on East Street, Camberville, Georgetown, Guyana, and later moved to Craig Street near Bourda Market.

Petronella was very academically inclined. After leaving high school, she became a qualified teacher in 1949. She continued her studies and became a registered nurse in 1952, going on to work at Georgetown Hospital in Guyana. She remained in the nursing field until 1958, when she earned a scholarship to study in England.

At the age of 31, Petronella obtained a qualification in Accounting and Information Systems in London. She began her accounting career at Littlewoods Pools, where she worked for two years before joining the local authority in London as a civil servant—a role she held for 12 years.

In 1971, Petronella’s department was relocating to Scotland. Around the same time, the government of Guyana introduced a scheme encouraging Guyanese living abroad to return home by offering secure employment and covering travel expenses for them and their families. Petronella took up the opportunity and moved back to Guyana.

Within a year of returning, Petronella’s mother passed away. Before her mother’s passing, Petronella had already secured a position at the Bank of Guyana, where she worked for two years. She then joined the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) of Guyana, eventually becoming Deputy Finance Officer—a position she held for seven years.

Between 1978 and 1981, the family returned to England. Petronella remained there for four years before immigrating to the United States in 1984. She earned her qualification as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and briefly worked in that field before returning to nursing as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). She worked at Memorial Hospital (University Blvd) for five years and at Baptist St. Vincent’s (in Riverside, Jacksonville, FL) for 15 years before retiring in 2004.

Petronella was an avid church member during her time in Guyana. She served as secretary at St. Peter’s AME Church in Queenstown and enjoyed singing in the choir of the church she had grown up in. She was also a wonderful homemaker who loved knitting, sewing, gardening, and cooking—especially during Christmas, her favorite time of year.

During her tenure as Deputy Finance Officer at the NIS, Petronella was also a member of the Toastmistresses Club.

Petronella had 10 siblings: Joseph (her twin), Dorothy, Muriel, Donald, James, Ethlyn, Brenda, Fritz, Winston, and John. She was fondly known as Grandma Fontanelle, Ma Fontanelle, and always as Aunt Nella to her many nieces and nephews living across the globe.

She is survived by her sister Brenda Gill and brother Winston Lees; her children Claude, Wendy, Marcel, and Natalie; 12 grandchildren—Giselle, Ruis, Blake, Melanie, Vanessa, Theo, Toya, D’Andre, Tiffany, Roxanna, Monique, and Robert; and 10 great-grandchildren—Josiah, Kayla-Mai, Theo, Jeremiah, Kaleem, Khyri, Joel, Chosen, Petronella, and Astrid.

Ms. Petronella A. Fontanelle was a woman of strength and courage—a shining example to us all. May she rest in peace, and may her light and wisdom continue to shine down on us.