Ailey Lawrence (April 26, 1932 – November 22, 2020)

Visitation: Friday, December 11, 2020
Visitation Time: 9:00 – 10:00 AM
Visitation Location: West Orlando Baptist Church
1006 E. Crown Point Road
Ocoee, FL

Service Date: Friday, December 11, 2020
Service Time: 10:00 AM
Service Location: West Orlando Baptist Church
1006 E. Crown Point Road
Ocoee, FL

Obituary:

Ailey Lawrence, 88, of Orlando, Florida departed this life on Sunday, November 22, 2020. Ailey was born Ailey Ferguson in Litchfield, Trelawny, Jamaica, West Indies on April 26, 1932 to Ethlyn and Nathaniel Ferguson. Her parents were devoted Christians who led an exemplary life, so they saw to it that Ailey and her siblings followed in their footsteps. Ailey loved God. From her childhood forward, she had a special place in her heart for God, and she grew up to be a very devoted Christian and an intercessor. Ailey accepted the Lord Jesus Christ at a very young age; with all her accomplishments, she was a Christian first. She loved to pray, and she spent time reading the word of God daily. She never wavered from her faith. Ailey was also very ambitious, a self-starter, and she always looked to a better and brighter future. She always saw the good in every person and any situation. She was considered the matriarch of her family and would do everything in her power to make sure that her family had the opportunity to do better in life.

Ailey migrated to the United States in 1969, and, like many who migrated, she could have ignored her family members who she left behind in her country. Instead, she saw to it that they were taken care of. From the day she arrived in America, she was always thinking about how she could get members of her family to join her, so that they could enjoy the American dream as well. She fulfilled that desire by making sure that many of her family members got the opportunity to come to America to live. She also took care of all of her other family members who remained in Jamaica. Those who remained in Jamaica could always look for her to send home barrels or letters with money to help them. Her name always rang with joy throughout her family because not one member of her large family can say that they have not benefited from her kindness. Today, I stand here because of her benevolence. I, like other members of her large family, have experienced the American dream because of her.

Once in America, Ailey joined the First Church of God in Evanston, Illinois. She was a very active member of the church from 1969 until she moved to Florida in 1991. As soon as she arrived in Florida, she started attending the West Orlando Metropolitan Baptist Church, where she remained a faithful member until the time God called her home. While living in Evanston, she worked at the Lutheran General Hospital as a nursing assistant, and Ailey gave the same special attention to her patients as she did with everyone else in her life. She also worked at the Orlando General hospital as a Nurse Assistant for several years. She was a devoted worker and was honored by the staff and her bosses at the time of her retirement for the exemplary work that she did.

Ailey loved her siblings and enjoyed their time together. They bonded in a very special way. Ailey loved to travel, and she and her sister, Viviana, travelled together on many of her numerous trips. Her brother, Leo, made sure that he kept in touch with her, and, toward the end of her life, these two made sure that she was well taken care of. What a bond they had together! I am sure that she transitioned from this world knowing that she was loved and taken care of because of their kindness to her.

Ailey loved children and had a very special love for her daughters Jenifer and Dr. Karen Lawrence and her son Derrick. Always supportive and encouraging, always wise and kind, she was so proud of all three of them. As a homemaker, a wife, and a mother, she was strong, capable, and tireless, always striving to make everything better. She enjoyed knitting and crocheting, which she learned as a child from her mother. She loved to paint and to decorate our home. She was also known for her beautiful gardens and for planting yams and bananas behind the house.

Ailey’s character and temperament can best be shown from the time she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s until her passing into heaven. Ailey had every right to cry, to be mad, to throw things, or even to fall into depression after her diagnosis. But that was not our Ailey, for she was graceful always until God called her home. Ailey loved and lived with every moment she was given, and neither hard times nor Alzheimer’s would rob her of who she was.

As she held all of us in her heart, she will live in a special place in all of our hearts forever as an extraordinarily loving sister, mother, aunt, grandmother, and friend. May God bless Ailey Lawrence. For her to live is Christ and to die is gain. She is survived by three children, Karen, Jenifer, and Derrick; two siblings, Viviana, and Leo; five grandchildren; a host of nieces and nephews, cousins, and several other relatives.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 11, 2020 from 9AM until services begin at 10:00AM, West Orlando Baptist Church, 1006 E. Crown Point Road, Ocoee, FL with Pastor Kenric Barnett, presiding. interment: Woodlawn Memorial Park, Orlando.