Norma B Garner

Norma Belnavis Garner, age 90, loving mother, grandmother and great grandmother, passed away  peacefully in her sleep on the 13th day of September, 2024. 

Norma was born in 1934 and raised in Bamboo, a small, peaceful village nestled in the parish of St. Ann,  Jamaica, West Indies.  Bamboo is surrounded by nature with the soothing sounds of birds chirping and the  rustling of tree leaves as a light breeze blows through the island air.  Bamboo is known for its lush  greenery and farm land where the Belnavis family has resided for more than a century.  It comprised a  close-knit community where neighbors always helped each other when the need arose.  Norma grew up  witnessing her parents generously give to the less fortunate.  The family lived on a lovely farm which was  the source of food and sustenance for the Belnavis’ and much of the community. 

In the mid-1950’s Norma traveled to the United States as a governess for a prominent Jamaican  family.  Upon completing her work with that family, she attended school at the University of Chicago, where she  studied nursing.  Subsequently, she moved to New York City, where she met and married Leon Clarke and  with whom she had three children, Neil, Marie and Tonie.  When her marriage dissolved, she bravely set  out to raise her children alone, instilling in them the love of God, the pursuit of education and a dedication  to community involvement. 

She later returned to school and attended Fordham University where she studied education while  simultaneously working as a paraprofessional for the New York City Board of Education, in the South  Bronx. 

In the 1980’s she found love again and married Ernest Garner who was a wonderful husband to her,  step-father to her children and grandpa to her grandchildren. 

Norma was well known for her fervent faith in God, whom she worshiped morning, noon and night.  Whatever challenges she faced, she always turned  to the Lord first for guidance on how to proceed  forward, for comfort during loss of loved ones and to be sustained through any and all horrific life events  such as two life altering accidents which her children suffered. 

She valued education immensely, so much that after attending camp during summer vacation with the sun  shining brightly in the sky, she required her children to study inside, as they listened to their friends  laughing and playing outside.  She wanted them to be prepared for the next school year and to practice  what they had learned in the previous school year.  And, during the school year, she would periodically  pay pop-up visits to her children’s classrooms without invitation, prior notice or forewarning, to either  their teachers …or her children.  In reference to education, she would often quote to them the following:  “Mama may have, Poppa may have, but God bless the child that has his own” and “Nobody can take your  education from you, once you get it.” 

She also strongly believed in community service, especially through church.  While she and her children  attended the Salvation Army church for nearly a decade and a half, she was an active member of the  church’s “Ladies Home League” ministry, which included visiting the sick, mentoring children,  distributing clothing to the poor, and sharing the word of God with others. In addition to working as a  public school teacher in the inner City, she taught Sunday School for many, many years at the Salvation  Army church. 

While she had a well earned reputation for being a strict disciplinarian with her children, they had no  bigger or louder cheerleader encouraging them to go after their dreams as she believed that they could  accomplish anything they set their minds to. 

While she was the fourth child born of thirteen children to her parents Roslyn and George Belnavis, she  often behaved and was treated as the eldest and the one to take charge in family matters. 

Finally, her passion in life was healthy eating and physical exercise. As a child, she suffered from Rheumatic fever, which caused damage to her heart but also propelled her to be very mindful of her  health and fitness. So, before there was  “Jane  Fonda” and her exercise videos, there was “Norma”  showing her friends and family how to do certain calisthenic and aerobic exercises or how to prepare  vegetarian dishes or homeopathic remedies.  If someone in the family or community had an illness, she  would research the cure in her famed “Back To Eden ”  book or in one of her other books in her huge  library on health and well being.   She’d prescribe herbs, supplements and green juice concoctions long,  long before such became popular.  Also, well into her late 80’s she would break out into stretching and  flexing routines at family gatherings, demonstrating to her nieces and grandchildren ways in which to  keep the body fit. 

And, she was very proud that she reached the age of 90 and still had  all of her own teeth, which she  brushed with baking soda rather than toothpaste.  But, in the end, her heart became less functional and  congestive heart disease wore her down. 

Norma is survived by her daughter and son-in-law Tonie and Michael Forbes, her grandchildren, Ampora

Marie, Michael Bradford, Ashleigh Miquelle, Taylor, Samantha and Summer, her great grandchildren,  Marie and Logan, her siblings, Adele Newby, Rachel Harris, Alphonso Belnavis, and Merna Binns and  too many to count nieces, nephews, multiple generations of cousins and other extended family.