On Tuesday, August 15th, 2023, God dispatched an angel to Margaret Tietz Nursing and Rehab. Center, Jamaica, NY, to escort our loved one home, into the loving arms of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Annie Lee Jarvis began her earthly journey on July 4, 1926, in Buckingham County, VA, one of eight children born to the late William D. Lee and Maude Cabbell Lee. Being blessed with loving parents and siblings, her early childhood began on a solid foundation. However at the age of six, she was faced with the passing of her father, but with the strength of a praying and God fearing mother, the family was able to survive.
Being blessed to have a mother whose commitment to God, family and church was strong, Annie was reared in the church and at an early age accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. She was baptized and became a member of the New Hope Baptist Church. She continued to worship here with her family until she moved from Buckingham to New York City.
Like many in the south at that time, she sought to move north with the hopes of having a better life where more economic opportunities were available. As a teenager, she convinced her mother to allow her to move to New York, under the watchful eyes and care of her aunt, Lina Cabbell Beard. This began her lifelong journey in New York with other family members and friends.
Striving to make her way, she held down many jobs, until she gained employment at Brooklyn College, in housekeeping. She remained there for twenty- five plus years, retiring as a supervisor in housekeeping.
Her journey in New York allowed her to meet and marry Herbert Jarvis. After her marriage, she moved from Harlem to Brooklyn, where she and her husband established their home. God would bless them to have many years together as husband and wife before his passing.
Her upbringing in the church as a youth continued to serve as a guide for her life, knowing that her relationship with God was greater than anything that the world could offer. This led her to always seek a place to worship where her soul could be fed, and she could serve the Lord. At the time of her passing she was an active member of Grace Baptist Church, Brooklyn, New York. It is in this church that she served as a member of the Usher’s ministry. She served as a loyal servant in this ministry until the time of her passing. Due to the sanctuary of Grace being under reconstruction, she sought someplace in her neighborhood to worship. This led her to New Jerusalem Holy Church, where she would attend, until her health no longer permitted.
Although never blessed to have had children of her own, she was a lover of children, and everybody’s child became hers. God said that He would never leave nor forsake us, and He has always placed angels in her life throughout the years. One such angel was her cousin John Morris and the other was Sharon Khan, who she lovingly called her daughter. They both cared for her throughout her illness, until her passing.
Besides her parents, Annie was preceded in death by: her husband, Herbert Jarvis; brothers, Harding, Ernest, Samuel, Rogers, Howard, and Junious; sisters-in- law, Blanche, Mary, Emma and Mary Bell; and brother-in-law, Howard Scruggs. She leaves to cherish her memory: her sister, Deaconess Mildred Scruggs; and sisters-in-law, Celestine Lee (Richmond, VA) and Mildred Lee (New York, NY). She is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.