Last respects for courageous Barbadian breast cancer victim Cecille White

Brooklyn’s Fenimore Street United Methodist Church (FSUMC) on Nov. 8 celebrated the life of Barbadian breast cancer victim Cecille “Peggy” White, who had courageously fought the disease for 9 ½ years. She died on Oct. 14 at 67.

Congregants, as well as the United Women in Faith of the United Methodist Church and the Central Brooklyn Lions Club, of which White was a member, were among mourners at her funeral service, filling the 135-year-old church to capacity.

Cecille White during Cancer Survivor Celebration on Oct. 2 at Fenimore Street United Church.Photo by Patricia Senhouse

“On behalf of the officers and members of the Fenimore Street United Methodist Church, I extend heartfelt condolences to Jason, Candice, Christopher (White’s children), other family, friends, co-workers,” said Cynthia Grant, chair of FSUMC’s Staff-Pastor-Parish Relations Committee, in her tribute.

“Sis. Peggy was an integral member of this church,” she added, stating that, at the time of her passing, White was FSUMC’s lay leader.

Praise and Worship Team eulogizing Cecille “Peggy” White. Photo by Nelson A. King

Grant, also a member of FSUMC’s Chancel Choir, said, “the lay leader functions as the primary representative who works with the pastor to fulfill the mission and vision of the congregation.”

She said White was “a loving person” and “a soloist in her own rights,” affirming, “I know she is with the Lord singing in the Heavenly choir.

“The way she faced her illness was the epitome of courage,” Grant added. “She will be missed. May her soul rest in peace!”

Harriet “Dana” Griffith told mourners that she could not match her sister’s singing, but offered “Oh Yes, He Cares…”

“And this evening, I want to say to Jason, Candace and Christopher that He cares,” said Griffith before her selection.

In reading a resolution that was presented to White’s family members, Angella Depass, the Jamaican-born president of the United Women in Faith, Long Island West District, United Methodist Church, said that White was “an active and faithful member of the Fenimore Street United Methodist Church, where she was serving as the lay leader.

Members of the Family Life Committee, in the foreground, with Members of the Central Brooklyn Lions Club, standing, pay last respects to Cecille “Peggy” White.Photo by Nelson A. King

“In the local unit of the United Women in Faith, Cecille served as the Membership Nurture and Outreach Coordinator,” she added, stating that White was also “a committed and dedicated member of the leadership team of the Long Island West District United Women in Faith.”

Depass said White served on the district’s Nominations Committee, and was the Membership Nurture and Outreach Coordinator, “when she had to leave her position due to declining health.

“Cecille rightly interpreted our purpose, which is ‘to know God and experience freedom as whole persons though Jesus Christ.’”

Depass disclosed that White’s name will be forwarded to the New York Conference of the United Women in Faith and will be read at the group’s annual meetings.

In addition, she said White’s life will be celebrated annually at the district’s memorial service at the end of every year.

“Be it further resolved that we will always remember our dear sister Cecille, and our prayers go out to her beloved family and friend,” Depass said.

Barbara Moody, the Belizean-born Past District Governor of District 20K1 of the Lions Club, representing Brooklyn and Queens, said she had known White for “quite a number of years, when she first started to attend the FSUMC with her children, Christopher and Candace.

“I’m aware I was asked to share with you her membership as a Lion of the CBLC (Central Brooklyn Lions Club), but it’s not easy to separate the Peggy I knew as a member of this church and the one being a Lion,” she said.

“She exhibited that same passion and energy in every aspect of her life and in whatever she was asked to do,” she added. “Whether it was serving as the chair of the Membership and Nurture Committee of the church, or the chaplain of the Lions Club, she got involved.”

But Moody said that singing was White’s passion, stating that, early in her life at FSUMC, White helped in forming a singing group, “God’s Rainbow”.

She also said that, until her passing, White was a member of another FSUMC singing group, United Voices of Praise (UVOP), which paid tribute in song to White during the funeral service.

In addition, White was a member of FSUMC’s Gospel Chorus and the Mass Choir.

Moody said White became a Lion in April 2021 on the invitation of Grenadian-born Lion Alister Aird, also a FSUMC member.

“Being a Lion, we are asked to do service in our communities; being a disciple of Jesus Christ, we are called into His service,” Moody said. “So, I find it hard to separate the life of Sis. White as a Christian and that of a Lion.”

In the latter years of White’s life, Moody said she “served faithfully as the lay leader of FSUMC and as a director on the Board of Directors of the CBLC.

“Her time with our club was short but fruitful,” she said. “She willingly served wherever and whenever called, and she made a difference. She left her mark in serving mankind.”

In a video tribute sent from Barbados, Joel Howard said that White “stood tall” in the Lions Club and that “faith was her anchor.”

Before singing “Abide with Me”, Rosina (last name not given), a member of the labor union 1199 SIEU, told mourners that she worked with White for almost 24 years.

“We went to the union meetings, Albany,” she said. “She loved to fight for the people; she contributed.

“I saw Ms. White as someone who loved to fight,” she added. “She did what she had to do. She was there for everyone.”

Before reading the obituary, Christopher Blair said that his mother “made sure we were in church every Sunday.

“She made sure God is in our hearts,” he said. “To this day, He’s still in our hearts. She loved all her children.”

According to the obituary, White, who was born on Dec. 14, 1956, migrated from Barbados to New York at 27, became a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN), and worked in several positions at Palm Garden Rehabilitation Center in Brooklyn before retiring in April 2023.

In October 2022, after diagnosed with breast cancer 7 ½ years before, White told Caribbean Life exclusively that she had continued to give God thanks for being among many survivors.

“Although the thought crosses my mind sometimes that it can return, I still refuse to give up on enjoying life,” she said. “I’m still working, of which I plan to retire next year.

“I maintain my doctor’s visits of every six months and my mammograms, along with ultrasounds,” added the Brooklyn resident. “To anyone out there who has been in this position or has been diagnosed with the dreaded ‘C’, as they refer to it, my advice to you is to stay positive, believe in yourself and follow the advice of your doctor, and exercise.”

At the time, White said she tried to stay as active as she possibly could by getting involved with several organizations.

“Don’t allow fear to creep in, although it can and it will,” she urged. “So, find positive friends that you can call on.”

White said she had maintained her family bond and support from her Church Family.

White had identified retired, Trinidadian-born, Registered Nurse Marlene Ferguson, a former nursing administrator at SUNY Downstate Medical Center and University Hospital of Brooklyn, as one of her church sisters, who was very supportive in her battle with breast cancer.

“From the day of my diagnosis, she helped me through making all the tough decisions, took me to appointments and was there for me when I woke up from surgery,” said White at the time about Ferguson, who had initiated and coordinated an annual Breast Cancer Survivors’ Day celebration at Downstate Hospital.

Cecille “Peggy” White’s sister, Harriet, pays tribute to her sibling. Photo by Nelson A. King

In addition, she said her sister Harriet, as well as retired Jamaican-born Registered Nurses Glenner Strachan and Doreen Thomas – both members of FSUMC and United Methodist Women of Faith – were “also a constant source of care and concern.”
A month after diagnosis, White said she had a partial mastectomy on her right breast at Brookdale Medical Center and University Hospital, and continued treatment, through radiation therapy, at Brookdale Medical Center.

Before her breast cancer diagnosis, in 2008, White, said, at the time, that she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, “followed by a total knee replacement surgery in 2011, which was very brutal.”

Her then message to others who have been diagnosed with breast cancer: “Be true to yourself; be positive. Put Christ first, and follow a healthy diet and lifestyle.”

In paying tribute to White on Tuesday, Ferguson, who chairs FSUMC’s Family Life and Anniversary Committees, told Caribbean Life that White “was like another sister to me.

FSUMC’s pastor, the Rev. Roger Jackson, offered the Prayer of Comfort and the Benediction.

White’s body is expected to be flown to her native Barbados for interment.