Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 1-23-18

Local
Her 100th Birthday Drew Visitors From All Over The World
Church’s 7-On-7 Flag Football Tournament Is A Community Outreach Event
REV. LARRY L. ROUNDTREE, II
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
Players, 12 and up, get ready to start hydrating and eating healthy and light, so that your body will have the stamina it needs to withstand what’s ahead.
These are the words com- ing from the New Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church Youth Dept. Ambassador of Jesus Christ Ministry. This group is under the leadership of: Reverend Larry L. Roundtree, II, Pastor, Deacon Ronald Graham, Ministry Coordinator; Louis Jones, Lead Advisor; and James Fielder, Athletic Ad- ministrator. Theron (TJ) James is the Event Coordi- nator.
The Ministry is hosting a “7-On-7 Flag Football Tour- nament” on Saturday, Janu- ary 27, 2018, 10:30 a. m. – 3:30 p. m. The community outreach event will be held at Alfred (Al) Barnes Park, for- merly 18th Ave. Park, 2902 N. 32nd St. (21st Ave./18th Ave.),
THERON (TJ) JAMES, JR.
Tampa 33605.
Water and Gatorade will
be provided on-site for partic- ipants.
The theme of the event is “Catching Souls For Christ,” key verse taken from Matthew 18:19-20.
“Our goal is to reach out to the community through evan- gelism, by sharing the love of Christ and offering disciple- ship to those who have not accepted Him as their Lord and Savior,” Pastor Roundtree stated.
To be able to participate in the tournament, players will need to fill out a medical re- lease form. Those who have not filled out the medical re- lease form, will be asked to fill out a waiver to participate in the tournament. A parent or guardian will need to fill out the waiver form.
Those who are interested in participating, please RSVP as soon as possible to Theron James, Jr., (813) 240-9793, or via email at theronjames123@gmail.com.
Mrs. Nelly Theodate, shown seated, celebrated her 100th birthday with family and friends. She is shown with her children from left to right: Mireille (Mimie) Madison, Kettly Zimmering, Tony Theodate, Marie Jose Bourdeau, and Nancy Romain. (Photography by BRUNSON).
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On January 11th, Mrs. Nelly Theodate celebrated her 100th birthday, sur- rounded by the children she had given birth to as well as several others who she adopted. The birth- day celebration was held at St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Carrollwood.
Ms. Nancy Romain,
her daughter said, “People came from all over the world to her party. There are many people whose lives she touched. We were one of the pioneering Haitian families when we came here. My uncle was a Diplomat, all of them were professionals.
“So, everyone coming to the United States came to our house. And every one of them came back to thank her on her birthday for help- ing them.”
The visitors came from several countries in Africa, Belgium, Canada, Haiti, London, England, and all
parts of the United States. Mrs. Theodate was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti. After reaching adult- hood, she married Bernard Theodate, an educator,
and became a housewife. When the family decided to come to the United States, her husband came first in 1954, and settled in New York City. She followed two years later with their three children. And they be- came the parents of three
more children.
Mrs. Theodate re-
mained a housewife until her husband suddenly died at the age of 41. Her daugh- ter, Ms. Romain said.
“After my father died, my mother moved to New York and went to school to be- come a nurse. She sent all 6 of us to college.”
Ms. Romain said her mother adopted 6 other children in Haiti after their mother died and they were all college-educated as well.
Mrs. Theodate moved to Tampa in the 1980s after
retiring. But, she remains very, very active and helps the family in any way that she can, including helping in her role of grandmother to 11 and great grandmother to 8. She doesn’t cook much anymore, but she goes to church at St. Peter Claver Catholic Church every Sun- day and goes to the Senior Center every day.
She survived kidney can- cer in 1970 and breast can- cer in 2004. However, she has had some tragedies along the way. In addition to her husband, her daughter, Ms. Carolle Hernandez, died of breast cancer in 2004, and one of her adopted children has passed on as well.
But she is in excellent health. She danced at her birthday party and told those in attendance to “look at all the things I can do at my age.”
Mrs. Theodate credits her longevity to “knowing the Lord and laughter. The Bible is my guide.”
PAGE 10 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2018