GAMBIER – Violet Alvira Banton, 84 of Gambier, passed away peacefully on March 26, 2023, with family present.
Violet was born Oct. 13, 1938, in Jamaica, West Indies. She worked many years at the Black River Hospital, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica as an aide taking care of many patients. Through her assistance, as she proudly told the story, she was able to refer a young boy who urgently needed a home to her local pastor and his wife, who adopted him. She migrated to the United States in the late 1980s where she worked as a home health aide until she retired.
Violet was an avid churchgoer. She was a member of the Black River Holiness Church, Jamaica for years, where she served faithfully in various capacities, including leadership in the women’s group, and she was also a member of The New Testament Church of God, Mount Vernon, New York. For the last 20 years, she attended Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene, in Mount Vernon, Ohio, where she enjoyed the church fellowship as well as the interactions with her Agape Sunday School Class. She demonstrated fervent worship and believed in the power of prayer, which sustained her through various illnesses over the years.
She loved to sew, crotchet, decorate her apartment and more than anything, to garden. She was already eagerly preparing her garden for the spring during the warm days we were blessed to have this year. She enjoyed talking with people and had a charming sense of humor.
Violet was predeceased by her mother, Sarah Whyte; her son, Frederick C. Banton; and her sister, Monica Evans. She is survived by her daughter, Donnaree Banton-Edmonds (Ennis Edmonds); her son, Michael E. Banton; her grandchildren, Donnisa Edmonds Frederick Jr., Carey, Donte, Abigail, Michael Jr., Renee Banton Hanna (Samuel); daughter-in-law, Janet Channer; nieces, nephews and great-grandchildren.
Services were held at Lakeholm, Church of the Nazarene, Friday, March 31, 2023. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Station Break Senior Center of Knox County, Attn: Meredith Lowther, Director, 160 Howard St., Mount Vernon, OH 43050, or to the Lakeholm Church of the Nazarene, 16001 Glen Rd., Mount Vernon, OH 43050.
The Dowds-Snyder Funeral Home was honored to serve the family of Violet Alvira Banton.
