The Tribune

By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BERTRICA Brown’s older brother recalled going without food and raising her from a shack after both of her parents died, as loved ones gathered over the weekend to mourn two of the five young people killed in the Shirley Street crash.

Anthony Thompson became Bertica’s guardian when she was nine after their mother died in 2015. Brown had lost her father when she was two.

Mr Thompson said he was still a teenager and homeless when he took responsibility for his younger sister, raising her with his wife and their two children in Abaco.

“When I received Trica, I was living in a shack,” he said. “But I didn’t let anybody know because I knew God’s journey.”

Mr Thompson said he struggled to understand how he would raise a young girl but became deeply involved in her development, coaching sports and even establishing a track club after she expressed an interest in throwing events.

He said there were times he sacrificed his own needs to ensure Brown was cared for.

“I sacrificed so much,” he said. “There were times I didn’t eat because I was trying to make sure she had food. I felt like I grew up so quickly.”

Brown’s funeral was held at Church of God Temple, where mourners dressed in green and could be heard wailing during parts of the service. She will be buried in Abaco at a later date.

A separate funeral was held at Living Waters Kingdom Ministries for Evalena Johnson.

Brown and Johnson were among five people killed in the Shirley Street crash. Diamond Stubbs, 17, Stania Webb, 19, and Keno Gordon, 19, also died.

Most of the eight occupants of the vehicle had known one another since childhood.

Mourners gathered in Cat Island last weekend for a joint funeral for Webb and Stubbs. Stubbs’ parents also attended Brown’s funeral.

Mr Thompson said he was inspired to speak after hearing Stanley Webb’s tribute to his daughter during that service.

He recalled the difficulty of balancing his role as Brown’s brother with the responsibilities of a father.

“There were times the brother in me wanted to let her do her own thing,” he said. “Then the father in me would stand up and say, ‘No, I’ll give you every opportunity I possibly can.’”

Mr Thompson said Brown was never rebellious, although he watched her experience the adolescent struggle of finding her identity.

Financial hardship followed the family throughout her childhood, including periods when he could not afford her private-school tuition.

“There's been times where I put in private school and couldn't pay a school fee. For months on end, but I thank God because of the favor she already accept. God's already placed in her life.”

He also wanted Brown to travel and gain opportunities that could help her secure a college education.

“There were many times I wanted to take her on trips so she could have opportunities for college,” he said. “Because of God’s favour in her life, Trica sponsors always came through.”

Brown graduated from Agape Christian School in Abaco after excelling in volleyball and track and field. Her relatives said she had received several scholarship offers before her death.

Tributes remembered her as a warm and loving person whose kindness, rather than any single achievement, defined her.

One mourner said Brown had a beautiful heart and that loving her came naturally.

Bishop Denczil Rolle, who delivered the sermon, recalled Brown approaching him for university sponsorship.

He said her forthright but respectful manner impressed him and reflected the determination with which she pursued her goals.