Sheila Yvonne Corlette

Sheila Y. Corlette

A Life of Family, Strength & Love

Some lives are measured not simply in years, but in the generations they shape. Sheila Yvonne Corlette lived such a life. Born on November 6, 1933, to Raymond and Annette Hercules, Sheila grew up alongside her sisters Joyce, Mariel, Joan, Bernetta, and Gladys. She would eventually become the matriarch of a family whose branches stretch across America and around the world. But those who knew Sheila knew there was much more to her than that.

She was smart. She was sweet. She was loving. She was strong. And she could be fiery. Sheila could love you with her whole heart and still let you know exactly what she thought. There was strength beneath her sweetness, and tenderness beneath her strength. Most of all, Sheila loved her family.

As a young woman, she welcomed her wonderful sons Adolphus and Keith. In the early 1950s, she met Compton Winston Corlette Sr., beginning a love story and partnership that would span more than half a century. They married on August 10, 1957, in Georgetown, Guyana, and together welcomed nine more children: Compton Jr., Colleen, Lorraine, Althea, Gregory, Horace, Christopher, Sharon, and Laura.

Perhaps nothing captures Sheila better than what she did in the 1970s. Wanting greater opportunities for her family, Sheila went first. She left Guyana and came to America alone, living in a room in a New York boarding house and working as a housecleaner and nanny. She cared for the homes and children of others while working, saving, and preparing a way for her own family to follow. It was work. It was sacrifice. It was love.

Eventually, her family joined her. Sheila couldn't have known how far that courageous decision would reach. Her children would build lives of their own. Sheila didn't simply hope for something better for her family. She helped build the road that got them there.

As grandchildren continued to arrive, Mommy became Granny. Sheila adored children, especially babies. She helped care for many of her grandchildren, walked them home from school, watched over them, and became part of the everyday rhythm of their lives. Her nephew Desmond also held a special place in her heart. Though a nephew by relation, their bond was that of mother and son.

And Sheila knew how to enjoy the life she worked so hard to build. She loved crossword puzzles, game shows, bingo, Matlock, Hawaii Five-O, The Sound of Music, and Sean Connery as James Bond. She also had a habit of figuring out where a movie was going before everyone else. She would say, “A picture is like a picture.” If you knew Sheila, you knew exactly what she meant.

And Sheila loved Atlantic City. She went with Compton, with her children and family, and sometimes she simply got on the bus and went by herself.

Sheila was observant and particular. She liked things organized and in their proper place. She also loved to look good. Sheila enjoyed getting her hair done, her manicures and pedicures, and she loved her pink nail polish. People remarked throughout her life about her beautiful skin.

Sheila also loved people. Her home was an open one, and she enjoyed entertaining and welcoming others. Taking care of people simply came naturally to her. She was a wonderful cook, and feeding her family was another way she showed her love.

That same love was present in her marriage. Sheila took great pride in caring for Compton and was known to mention, more than once, how faithfully she washed her husband's clothes. It became something of a family joke at one point. But when Sheila spoke of Compton, she also remembered how good he had been to her and what a wonderful husband he was. Sheila knew she had been deeply loved. And she loved him deeply in return.

Some of the most precious memories were found in ordinary days, family coming and going, a favorite show playing, children and grandchildren around, Compton in his home office, and Sheila right in the middle of it all. When Compton passed away on July 4, 2006, his absence was deeply felt.

For most of Sheila's life, she had been the one doing the caring. Eventually, life asked Sheila to allow others to care for her. Her son Gregory answered that call in an extraordinary way. They also shared happier moments together, including drives to Atlanta that Sheila loved. He welcomed his mother into his home in Georgia and became her primary caregiver, protector, and advocate, taking her to appointments, preparing her meals, and remaining steadfast as her needs increased.

Her daughter Lorraine also played an invaluable role in Sheila's final years, generously giving her time, support, and care. Her daughters Colleen, Althea, Sharon, and Laura also provided a great deal of care, each helping their mother in her own unique way and giving Sheila their time, presence, and love. Sheila's sons surrounded their mother with love as well, visiting, supporting, and cherishing their time with her. Her sons-in-law and daughters-in-law were also an important part of Sheila's family, along with those she forever embraced as her own. Her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and larger circle of family surrounded Sheila with love, showing it through their presence, support, and care in ways both big and small.

The woman who had spent a lifetime nurturing others was now surrounded by the family she had nurtured. The love had come back home.

Sheila's story began more than nine decades ago, but it does not end here. Long ago, one woman left Guyana carrying a hope for something more for the people she loved. She could not possibly have known every life that would one day grow from that decision. Across the generations, Sheila's family grew to more than 200 descendants.

Today, her legacy can be seen everywhere, in the strength of her children and the lives they built, in her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, in all those she held dear, in the babies she would have been delighted to hold, and in a family that continues to take care of one another because that is simply what family does.

Perhaps every now and then, they'll also see Sheila in someone setting aside a plate for a loved one coming home, making sure everything is where it belongs, choosing the pink nail polish, finishing a crossword puzzle, heading off to bingo, or lovingly telling somebody exactly what she thinks.

And when someone figures out the ending of the movie before everyone else, perhaps they'll hear her saying, “A picture is like a picture.” And they'll smile, because that was Sheila.

Sweet and strong. Loving and fiery. Elegant and nurturing. Wife. Mommy. Granny. Sister. Auntie. Just…Sheila.

Sheila spent more than nine decades loving her family. And in doing so, she created something that will outlive us all - a family that knows what it means to have been loved by Sheila.

Sheila was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Compton Winston Corlette Sr., her son, Adolphus Hercules, and her sisters, Joyce, Mariel, Joan, Bernetta, and Gladys.

She leaves to cherish her memory her children, Keith, Compton Jr., Colleen, Lorraine, Althea, Gregory, Horace, Christopher, Sharon, and Laura; her beloved Desmond, whom she embraced as a son, and a remarkable legacy spanning generations of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. Her memory will also be cherished by her nieces and nephews, those who became family through marriage, those she forever embraced as her own, and a host of extended family and dear friends.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association in honor and loving memory of Sheila Corlette.