Reba M. Clinton, age 98, of Winter Garden, passed away Sunday, November 28th, 2021. She was born in Wrightsville, GA the daughter a of the late Lizzie (Eady) and Archie Tanner and was employed as a railroad clerk.
Reba leaves to cherish her memory, daughter, Clarice Clinton-Davis, of Winter Garden; grand daughter Victoria Williams of Winter Garden; grandson Benjamin Williams, III of New York; great grandchildren - Crystal Williams, Benjamin Williams IV both of Orlando, Keilyn Solomon of Winter Garden; 9 great-great grand children,
The family will be receiving friends from 10:00 am, followed by the funeral service at 11:00 am on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021 at City of Destiny Church in Apopka, FL . Interment will follow the funeral service at Orlando Memorial Gardens.
Dear Mom,
Thank you, Mom! Thank you
for loving me. Thank you for all those words of wisdom that are resonating in my ear and providing
solace during this trying time.
You prepared me for life
and for your death. You said that
when God called you that you would answer, and you did. You told me that you loved
me, that you would regret
leaving me, but your higher
duty was to God!
You
left me that
night and I turned my head to shed a tear. When
I turned back
to look at you, I saw my Godmother. She
was just smiling. I realized that she was reminding me of the deep enduring friendship that you shared. I turned away
again and when I looked at you, I saw my aunts and uncles. It reminded me of the familial
relationships that I grew up
observing. By now, the tears
were streaming down my
face, and
I turned away.
When I turned back there was a
peaceful smile on your face that soothed my aching heart and dried
up my tears. I saw
you as a
little girl
growing up in
Dublin, Georgia romping and playing. I saw the good times and the hard times: the loss of your brother under mysterious
circumstances and the time that you were violated, and no one was held
accountable. I saw the hunger for a better life that led you at age 16 to leave home, after graduating from high school, for greener pastures in Harlem, N.Y.
I saw you falling in love
and marrying my father, which resulted
in the birth of five children, with only1 surviving.
Through the losses and the heartache, you were a caregiver for your mother,
a loving wife
and mother and Transit
Authority Clerk.
You took great
pride in the fact that
you were a faithful member of Emanuel A.M. E. Church for over
40 years. You served as
an usher and a senior class member to assist new members and assist the church in raising money
and spreading the gospel to those outside the faith. Your reasonable
service brought you joy and peace in leading
others to Christ.
So,
today I salute you for your strength and
courage, for never giving
up and instilling these qualities in me. Thank
you. I love you, until we see each other again.
Your Loving Daughter,
Clarice
My Grandmother: By Benjamin
F. Williams, Ill
My maternal grandmother was not just a grandmother, she was grandmotherly. She was a fount
of wisdom and knowledge that was not gained
from just sitting behind a desk for hours upon hours in an institution of higher learning. Her perspective
was gained by living
through the Jim Crow south, World War
11, the Al Capone era, the civil rights
movement, #Me too, Black Lives Matter, and the covid pandemic. So, when she shared her views and opinions, it came from the blood, sweat and tears of life.
She lived
98 years which meant that she saw more
than all of us,
she never judged. She told you what she thought and why, then let you decide what
to keep and what to
discard. She understood that her idiosyncrasies and
opinions could be shared
but not always adopted by the listener.
If
life was a hardship, church provided support
and joy. The gospel was her cane. Spirituality washer most
enduring pleasure. Grandma loved Sunday service. When I
did not pray, she prayed
for me. When I embarked on my own spiritual journey, she did not judge me, but
merely stated, "as long as you believe in something baby."
No matter where I was in my life's journey, I always sought my grandmother's
opinion. Good, bad, or indifferent, she imparted the truth. She was my Rock of Gibraltar, steady unmovable. I could not fathom life without her. We are a small family, that has now
been decreased by one. But I know that she is looking down on us, as our guardian angel, making sure that we are
all okay. No matter what I may
have done, what may have been said
about me, or how many times I may have
been scolded, Grandma always came to see about me to make
sure I was all right
in every capacity, day
after day, and week after week.
From
here on out the months of my
remaining years will
be aptly renamed
June, July, August, September, October, November, December, January, February, March April and Reba-May, RIP.
Your Loving Grandson,
Ben
