My Dedication to "Velma"

Velma Lee McIntyre was born January 7, 1945 as the firstborn child to Henry and Sadie McIntyre. She became the first living seed of their marriage as Henry and Sadie started a new family life together after her dad’s first wife died. To many of her brothers and sisters, Velma was nicknamed or known as “Bone” by her brother Peter because he couldn’t pronounce Velma correctly. Although being named after her mother’s sister Velma, ironically she took on the personality and image of her father’s mother Malinda, her grandmother. This made it easy to understand whose DNA she comes from. She always made mentioned of her father’s comments concerning this matter. It seemed to bless her whenever her father would remind her of how much she resembled his mom. Evidently she was a very independently minded woman which was the character of Velma. This is what got her in plenty of trouble. She gave birth to nine children, eight boys and one girl. They eventually produced over forty grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Velma’s early mishaps altered the course and direction of her life as she became pregnant at the young age of 13. She gave birth to her first child at the age 14 which was a “no” “no” during that time and era for a young girl. She was belittled for this misfortune because it tarnished the family name. This lowered her self-esteem in the community and among family as this started a cycle in her life that would spiral out of control until Jesus would change her life. In fact, it lasted into her early forties. Though the first 41 years were with much ridicule, the last 28 years became worthy of praise as she became a virtuous woman as she got older. The good stature and reputation that her parents had longed for her finally developed as she matured. She became a born again Christian when she gave her heart to Jesus on July 31th 1986. She joined the Church and became an usher in the house of God. She became faithful in the house of God. So faithful until the epitaph on her gravestone would read that she was “A Doorkeeper in the House of the Lord.” Velma Lee McIntyre died on October 31, 2013 about 6:15 in the morning.