Today, I share the third part of the eulogy that I read for my mother’s funeral.
As a courageous trailblazer, she first moved to Berkeley and then settled in San Jose, CA. for a period of time. Later, she moved to Southern California, where she resided in Buena Park, CA. from 1976-1990. During this time, she continued her passion for teaching and worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District as a special education teacher, school nurse, counselor and health educator throughout the course of her career.
She achieved another Masters degree in Special Education from California State University, Fullerton, while continuing to work as a nurse for many leading hospitals in the Southern California area.
In 1991, she moved back to St. Thomas, VI to be closer to friends and family and worked as a nurse at the St. Thomas Hospital and as a special education resource teacher and school nurse for the VI Department of Education. In the late 1990’s she moved to Atlanta, GA. to be closer to her daughter and two sons and worked for the Fulton County School system for a short time. However, in early 2002, she permanently moved back to St. Thomas.
After leaving government service, she opened Bellony Consultants and Bellony Home Care Services, which provided skilled in-home nursing services as well as consulting services to private and government agencies.
Daisy was a devoted and active member of the Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church on St. Thomas and worked with its health outreach ministry. She also worked with the Wesley Methodist Health Outreach Ministry and numerous other community groups. She was a committed public servant who valued lifelong learning, family and a deep abiding relationship with God. Before her passing, she was actively engaged in starting a compassion support group to bring together people with similar issues, whether it be illness, relationship problems or life changes.