OBITUARY
Mrs. Lillian Roberta Rainey, the daughter of the late Haskell and Dewey Jamison, sister of the late Wilhelmina Murray Buchanan and the wife of the late Fred Rainey, was born in Dallas, North Carolina, April 19, 1924 and after a long illness departed this life on Saturday, June 20, 2009 in Brooklyn, New York. Lillian is survived by her sons Ronald Frederick Rainey and Brian Kevin Rainey, her daughter Brenda Michelle Rainey, her granddaughter Shanescia Simone Eddie, her grandson Malik Lamar Ramsey, their respective parents Sandra Bee Eddie and Thomas Lamar Ramsey, two great granddaughters Isabela Isis Ramsey, Marisa Margarita Ramsey and their mother Jessica Catano. She also leaves behind a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives.
Lillian’s family moved to Gastonia, North Carolina where she spent her entire childhood. She was always an inspiration and shared her plight with many. In spite of the challenges she faced, born premature, sickly and not thought to survive, being physically limited by rickets as a toddler, dark-skinned and growing up in the South, Lillian had strong will and tremendous determination and excelled in academics and eventually dance and sports.
She joined St. Peter’s Tabernacle A.M.E. Zion Church at an early age and was very active there. Lillian always loved music and at age 11, she began performing dance with the Pryor Orchestra earning her the nickname “Little Red Riding Hood.” Later she became choreographer for her school’s annual minstrel show. Once Lillian learned how to Jitterbug, she made it her own. It was therapeutic for her --- physically, mentally and emotionally. Her grace, love of movement, motion and her exceptional aptitude in dance with a twist of acrobatics, “Jitterbug” to be precise, earned her another nickname, “Jami.”
Lillian Rainey attended Highland Elementary and High Schools where she graduated with honors. After graduation, she attended Good Samaritan Hospital, Charlotte, North Carolina where she was the youngest student in the nurses training class graduating as valedictorian. She became a licensed RN by the early age of 21. To help pay her tuition in nurses training, Lillian taught the Jitterbug to all who were interested. She became known as the Jitterbug Queen in the Charlotte community. She also sketched illustrations for nurses training classes as requested by instructors.
After graduation, she married Donald Holland, now deceased.
She ventured north, moving first to Connecticut, then Manhattan and finally to Brooklyn.
Lillian, a civilian and her sister, a Private First Class in the WAC division of the United States Army worked as registered nurses at some of the same health facilities. In fact, she and her sister were the only two black registered nurses employed at Psychiatric Institute in New York, NY… rumored to be the first black RN’s employed at that facility.
Lillian met her late husband Fred Rainey and they settled in Brooklyn. While working full-time and raising a family, Lillian continued her higher education at Long Island University and St. Joseph’s College. For several decades, she worked as evening Supervisor at Carlton Nursing Home until her retirement in 1990. She loved nursing dearly and was loved by her geriatric patients.
After retirement, she continued to play the piano and immediately began writing poetry. Her poetry has been published in more than 2 dozen books, nationally and internationally. Some of her poems have been set to music. In 2002, she completed a book of poems entitled “Enlighten.” A sampling of her works can be found online at www.poetry.com.
Lillian was a member of various nurses associations, an active alumnus and had joined numerous poetry societies.
The most important thing to Lillian was Love and her family. She always encouraged them and everyone in her sphere to ‘Get a Good Education’ which she said was the key to a successful career. Lillian often spoke about The Golden Rule: Do Unto Others As You Would Have Others Do Unto You and You Reap What You Sow.