Melba Earl-Simmons

She was the only child for her parents John Carr and Agnes Lewis.

Melba’s parents died when she was still quite young and so she was raised by her aunt May, her father’s sister.

After her primary/ high school years, Melba attended the School of Practical Nursing, which was owned and operated by her aunt, Christine Edwards. Melba then set her sights on traveling to England to attend nursing school. After she completed her training as a Registered Nurse, she worked in various hospitals in England.

In England she met and married Gregory Hector Earl. After the marriage, she went to work for Brooklyn Jewish Hospital in New York City to work as a nurse. In due course, Melba and her husband Hector settled in New York City. The union of Melba and Hector produced one child, Angela who was the joy and pride of her mother’s life.

Melba married Kingsley Simmons in September, 1971 and moved to the island of Bermuda to live with her new husband and became stepmother to her husband’s three children, Kimberly, Kingsley Jr. and Karen.

In Bermuda, Melba worked at Pembroke Rest Home and was a member of the Brighton Hill Church of Christ. She was a Christian woman who put God’s love above everything else and she instilled the reverence of God in her daughter, Angela.

Melba’s hobbies included cooking and sewing and she loved to try out new recipes. She loved plants and flowers and growing African violets brought her much happiness. Cruising was another pastime that she enjoyed.

She had a sense of style and fashion that was uniquely her own. She often said that she got her sense of style from her paternal grandmother, who she believed was a descendant of the Igbo tribe of Southeastern Nigeria.

Melba was a strong and confident woman who did not allow anyone to walk all over her, but at the same time she was kind and generous to those she loved and cared for.

Melba lived a long and meaningful life and now she has gone home to be with her Maker. The two items that she died holding in her hands were her Bible and a picture of her husband, Kingsley and herself on a cruise.

Good-bye lady of grace, class and charm. May you rest in peace.