24
November 2015 SR
SHEPPARD
— Arah Mae Sheppard (nee Davis), 78, of
Stow Creek Twp., NJ, passed away at home on Sunday
morning, June 14, 2015, while in the care of her family
and hospice.
Arah Mae was born in Bridgeton, NJ, on July 17, 1936. She
was the daughter of Percy C. and Beulah Allen Davis. She was
the wife of Mark K. Sheppard. A graduate of Bridgeton High
School, she was a registered nurse and had worked at
Bridgeton Hospital for eight years and later for the Cumberland
County Homemakers in Millville. She retired in 2002.
Mrs. Sheppard was a longtime resident of Stow Creek and
was proud she was a farmer’s daughter and equally proud to
be a farmer’s wife.
She was dedicated to her family and to her church. Mrs.
Sheppard served as church clerk and had been a member of
the choir. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting and counted cross
stitch. She liked to work in both her flower and vegetable gar-
dens. Arah Mae also enjoyed travelling and boating. She was a
music lover who played the piano and she was an avid reader.
In addition to her husband, Mark, she is survived by four
children and their families: daughter, Ann Sheppard Polo, her
husband, Anthony, and children: Amy Olin (Brian), Michael
Burdsall and Casey Burdsall; son, Jeffery Mark Sheppard, his
wife, Pamela, and children: Megan Hurst (David), Tara Dettra
(Grey), Matthew Sheppard, Christian Sheppard (Erin), Gregory
Sheppard; daughter, Karen Sheppard Uhland, her husband,
Terry, and children: Courtney Mattus (David), Kyle Uhland,
Travis Uhland (Emmily); and daughter, Jean Trembley, her hus-
band, John, and children: Joshua Richie (Erica), Mark Richie
(Heather). She is also survived by 13 great grandchildren; two
brothers, Allen Davis (Nancy), and Phil Davis (Cookie); and
sister-in-law, Florence Dickinson. She was predeceased by a
grandson, a brother, and a brother-in-law.
Funeral services were held on June 17, 2015, at the
Seventh Day Baptist Church of Shiloh, NJ. Memorial contribu-
tions are requested to the SDB Church of Shiloh or to
Inspira Health Care HospiceCare, Vineland, NJ.
MINOTT-HAMILTON
—
Gladys
Louise Minott-Hamilton;
July 17, 2015 at the age of 102 years old.
Gladys Louise Minott Hamilton was born to Horatio and
Rhoda Minott, on December 27, 1912, in Jamaica, West Indies.
Her parents, who were Jamaicans, had migrated to Cuba to
seek a better life. When her mother became pregnant with her,
they went back to Jamaica for her birth, and returned to Cuba
when Gladys was 10 months old. Unfortunately, her mother
died when she was 5 years old and she was raised by two
female guardians. In her formative years, she attended a Baptist
Union Church regularly, while learning both English and Spanish,
so she was fluently bi-lingual. In her youth, she received Jesus
Christ as her Savior, but was never water baptized, nor did she
become a member of any church.
In 1954, Gladys married Isaiah Hamilton. Five years later,
following the Fidel Castro-led revolution in Cuba, the couple
returned to live in Jamaica. From her own personal reading
of the Scriptures, she became aware of the relevance of the
seventh-day Sabbath and was very interested in becoming
part of a Sabbath-keeping church. Through a relative of her
husband, she met the Mulvaney family and discovered that
they were Seventh Day Baptists. She began visiting their
church in Kingston, and fell in love with it.
Gladys was finally water baptized at age 50 by Pastor Leon
Lawton in 1962, and became active in that very same church.
She especially enjoyed working with the children and functioned
in the spiritual gift of helps. Five years after being baptized, she
migrated to New York City, and in 1974 when the New York City
SDB Church was started, she had the privilege of being one
of the charter members. She had become acquainted with
that church planting effort through Clara Thompson, a co-
worker and the wife of the founding shepherd of the church,
Pastor Socrates Thompson. Gladys was appointed a deaconess
in that church before relocating in 1979 to Miami, Florida.
Two years after settling in South Florida, Gladys again had
the opportunity to be charter member of another SDB
Church, the Miami Church. That church appointed her as a
deaconess, and then ordained her in that role in 1992. Her
husband, Isaiah, passed away in 1993. Although she never
gave birth, she was significantly responsible for helping to
raise numerous children. She had a passion for taking care of
children.
Her life has been characterized by service, faithfulness, and
humility. In her later years, Gladys relocated to West Palm
Beach and then St. Cloud in Florida. The aging process, and
relocation prevented her from being physically active in the
church, but her longevity and consistency were so outstanding
that the church conferred on her the honor of Deaconess
Emeritus in 2006 when she was 94 years old.
At age 102, Gladys took her last breath on July 17, 2015.
She is survived by nephews and a nieces, grandnephews and
nieces, and great-grandnephews and nieces. A service of
thanksgiving for her life was held at the Miami Seventh Day
Baptist Church on August 6, 2015, officiated by Pastors
Andrew Samuels, Norman Fearon, and Alcott and Jasmine
Lynch. Her body was laid to rest alongside her husband’s.
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