Emily Valentine Brereton

Emily Valentine (DaSilva) Brereton was born on November 12, 1931, to George DaSilva and Vivian (Blenman) DaSilva on the island of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. Emily was one of twelve brothers and sisters. While attending school in Saint Vincent, she loved and excelled in the game of “Net Ball”. Her early life/work experience was as a midwife and then as a nurse in the Kingstown hospital system, located in the capitol of St. Vincent.

Joseph Beresford Keith Brereton lovingly referred to as; “Sonny Boy” was the love of Emily’s life. They were childhood friends that eventually married in 1957. The union bore Gerry Brian Brereton and Robert Michael Brereton. Emily and Sonny initially migrated to Brooklyn, New York, eventually settling in Queens and living there for over 25 years. Emily worked as a nurse in various hospitals in Queens and Brooklyn. She eventually achieved her Bachelor of Science in Nursing Degree from Medgar Evers College, Brooklyn, New York.

Although moving to the United States at a young age may have been at times daunting, Emily had a very close bond with her friends Ishbel, Yvonne, Annette and Joy, to name a few. In fact, they had an incredible community of friends from back home, who also settled with their families in New York. House parties, picnics, cricket outings, various bus outings and boat rides to Bear Mountain, was the glue that kept the spirit of being a Vincentian alive and strong for them.

In 1989, Emily and Sonny moved to Orlando, Florida. Simultaneously, they became the proud grandparents of Alexa and Clark Brereton. Emily worked for a short time and then eventually retired from nursing. Her Sonny Boy passed on in 1998 but by that time Emily had created another loving circle of friends. In 2002 and 2008, Emily had undergone two aggressive surgeries, to remove cancerous tumors from her brain. Dementia slowly arrived over the years but she still had many lucid moments as she continued to make jokes and laugh.

On Monday, August 15th, 2022, Emily was called home to be with the Lord. She is enveloped in the arms of her parents, siblings and friends who went home to the Lord before her. Emily leaves behind to mourn her: Her sons Gerry Brian and Robert Michael. Daughter in-law, Loren Brereton, Grandchildren, Alexa and Clark Brereton, Grand daughter in-law Alexis Brereton, Great-Grandchildren, Alana Jones and Axil and Berlin Brereton, Sisters Verena Matthews of Canada and Maureen Burton of New York, Brothers, Bertille (“Silky”), Casper and Austin of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and a host of nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews.

You fought a good fight.

It is now your time to rest.

As Loren, her daughter in law, would always state, “MY Mother in Love is the BEST Mother in Love in the world!”

Lovingly,

The Family

A visitation for Emily will be held Friday, August 19, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Baldwin Fairchild at Chapel Hill, 2420 Harrell Road, Orlando, FL 32817. A funeral service will occur Friday, August 19, 2022 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM, 2420 Harrell Road, Orlando, FL 32817. A committal service will occur Friday, August 19, 2022 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM at Chapel Hill Cemetery, 2400 HARRELL RD, ORLANDO, FL 32817.