Vernell B Givhan

On July 21, 2025, a powerful force of humanity known as Vernell B. Givhan took her final rest. During her remarkable journey through this earthly life, she wasted no opportunity to touch someone with her compassion, candor, energy, and openness to friendship and fellowship with the many people who were fortunate to cross her path.

Vernell was born in June 1939 to James Monroe Ferebee Jr. and Viola Cuffee Ferebee of Norfolk, VA. She was the fifth of six children. Vernell traced her strong character, and fidelity to family and faith, to her roots in the Norfolk neighborhood of Campostella and the rural home of her beloved grandparents and extended family in Hickory. She reminisced often about the people and events of her childhood. Time spent with Vernell meant that you might learn about the history of her family; the love of fun and good times that started with the vibrant spirit of her mother and loving kindness of her father and their relatives; the names and talents of the members of the different churches in which she worshipped; and the parades in which she proudly twirled baton as a majorette in the Marching Band of Booker T. Washington High School in Norfolk. To know Vernell was to know what it means to have an identity shaped by tradition, community, and culture - from the delicious food that she always prepared and shared so willingly, to the concern that she had for the well-being of everyone’s children, and the way that she remained steadfast in her commitment to worship and trusting the Lord to take care of her to the end of her days. Whenever someone wondered how Vernell became such a dynamic woman of substance and fortitude, she would point to her heritage and the goodness of the people and places in which she was raised.

After high school, time in college, and a first marriage to Lonnie Bryant of Norfolk, VA, Vernell embarked on her legendary journey up the eastern seaboard in determined pursuit of economic uplift and access to opportunity for herself and her young daughters, Crystal and Tracey. Some of her most fascinating stories came from tales of the people she worked with and for in Baltimore, MD, on Long Island, NY, and eventually in greater Boston, an area she was drawn to by the young President from Massachusetts, John F. Kennedy, and the era of hope and social change he represented. Vernell’s children and grandchildren attest to the values of hard work, education, presenting yourself well - and maintaining an orderly and well-appointed home - that she instilled in them as attributes that held her in good stead during this period of her life. Family and others also learned about her deep well of resilience and resourcefulness through her recollections of facing serious injury and illness, the uncertainty of adapting to unfamiliar surroundings, and the challenges sometimes presented by being a young adult alone and far away from home and one’s family of origin. It is from this time that she experienced the periodic need of a helping hand from new friends and acquaintances. She never forgot those feelings or experiences. As a result, she generously opened her home, lent her support, and assisted and befriended countless people of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances through her years as a resident of greater Framingham.

Vernell met John Givhan, another newcomer from the South, in Framingham. They married in 1968 and added a daughter, Shawn, and son, John, to their family. The households that they set up in Framingham, Natick and Ashland served as the base of operations for her multitude of virtuous deeds. Vernell’s legacy includes working to establish Greater Framingham Community Church, started in 1972, as a place of interdenominational worship where the traditions of the African American church would be accessible to all who desired them. She infused the church with the organization and management of the Usher Board, had a long tenure as Chair of the Trustee Board, and served as a member of the Mission and Outreach Ministry among many other ways of serving and working for the church over the years. Another hallmark of her legacy of community engagement is the Host Parent Program that she created to support minority students at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, MA. For over a decade, she matched boarding high school students with Black, church-affiliated families in the area who were willing to follow her lead in opening their hearts and homes to young people from around the nation and the world. She was determined that they should not feel they had to walk alone as students at St. Mark’s.

Over the years, Vernell held many jobs in both the public and private sector. However, she loved her government jobs the most, including her time as a U.S Postal Service clerk in Framingham, keypunch operations supervisor for the U.S. Army Labs in Natick, purchasing agent for the U.S. Property and Fiscal Office - MA National Guard in Natick, and her final position as a customer service representative in the Framingham and Watertown branches of the Registry of Motor Vehicles. These jobs resonated with her because they tied back to her origins in the government-and-military town of Norfolk, and they gave her a chance to help people directly from every corner of the community that she touched in so many ways.

Vernell Givhan was preceded in death by her parents; her cherished son, John Givhan II; her much-adored sisters and brother-in-law Jean (Leland) Moultrie, Iris Fisher, and Gladys Bright of Norfolk, VA; her brothers Haywood Cuffee of Virginia and James Allen Ferebee of South Carolina; and her niece Wanda Wilkerson and nephews Kenneth Sweatt and Calvin Bright of Norfolk, VA. She leaves to celebrate her life a husband of 56 years, John W. Givhan of Ashland, MA; daughters Crystal (Ronald) Fagan of Worcester, MA; Tracey Bryant of Framingham, MA; and Shawn Givhan of Ashland, MA; grandsons Emmanuel Osamwonyi of Ashland, MA and Tyler (Colbie) Foster of Natick, MA; granddaughter Amari Bilal of Ashland, MA; great-grandchildren Kyliegha Osamwonyi, Jayvoni Foster, and Aubriana Foster of Framingham, MA; and Aaliyah Foster and Cameron Foster of Natick, MA; and a host of treasured nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, and friends. Vernell’s life was a testament to faith, family, and community. In the spirit of one of her favorite songs, ‘may the circle be unbroken,’ even in death.

A visitation will be held at Greater Framingham Community Church, located at 44 Franklin St., Framingham, MA 01702, on August 1, 2025, from 9:00 am to 10:00 am.

The funeral service will follow at the same location from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.