Growing up, ‘my big sister’ Joy, my Mother’s ‘maiden child’ - as one of her early pictures was titled, was the ‘celebrity’ of my limited world. She was stunningly beautiful, a head turner. She was smart. She was fierce, yet always spoke in a very low tone in her ‘Queen’s English. She was ambitious and successful. I felt that I was the luckiest girl in the world to have her as my big sister...I can't help but continue to tell you about my sister - she was caring, extremely supportive, a disciplinarian, extremely principled and extremely loyal. She was the classic case study for ‘Senior Sister Syndrome’ because she felt she had to plan for everybody to ensure we were okay! When you put all these qualities together, I can comfortably say that Joy was 'Love and Commitment to family’' personified. She was a mother hen. Fiercely protective and always wanting the best, only the best for us and her extended family as a whole. Her generosity to all is legendary. She gave selflessly and thoughtfully.
Memories already flood to my mind...My sister Joy had the most unique singing voice, the melody came from her heart, the harmony from her mind, the vocal output - there maybe some question marks here???...but now that she is with her Maker, I am sure it is music to His ears. Her humour was complicatedly funny, her delivery of ‘taking you down’ during sibling disagreements, most times sent us running to find a dictionary! Her eloquence was admirable -she was truly created for her chosen profession.
My big sister Joy had a heart of gold that made her passionate about everything concerning herself and those she cared about. Sometimes to the extreme. She was fun loving, well travelled...she had friends in every corner of the world. I admired the sisterhood she had built in her lifetime which bears testimony to the goodness that flowed from her to others. She was very charitable, memorably walking the Marathon to raise money for one of her causes - she was supposed to be running, but I think that all that counts is that she finished the race.
I will forever be grateful to Joy, remembering the long conversations on the phone back in the day, her legendary dance steps and ‘unique’ voice, her love of having family around her …. Her determination to make me well again when I was ill, her generosity to my children, while at the same time teaching them how the ‘real world’ operates...I will miss her wise counsel, her loyalty as a sister, her love, which came from a very deep place in her heart... I really expected a miracle, it didn’t happen. And since it didn’t happen, thank you Father, You gave her to us for a season, and now that season has ended. I thank You because I believe she fulfilled her purpose in life. I thank You for making her my BIG SISTER in every sense of the word… I thank You most of all that she passed on a special day, Easter Saturday and that she left peacefully...Rest in peace my precious angel sister, from where I stand you are in excellent company. Love you very much, and will miss you so much.
