Several friends, family members and other mourners paid their final respects at the Ocho Rios Baptist Church on Saturday, April 29 to a woman who was remembered as a person who brought laughter and happiness into the hearts of many.
That woman was 41-year-old Stacy Ann Ellis, popularly known as ‘Shabba’ or ‘Shabooty’. She died Tuesday morning, April 18, at the St Ann’s Bay Hospital, St Ann. She was taken there after she had become ill at the St Ann Infirmary which had become her home for the last two years.
Relatives said Shabba or Shabooty had been ailing for some time and had been in and out of hospital.
Well-known and loved for her antics, dancing, dressing and straight-talking, Shabba was a popular street figure in Ocho Rios, St Ann until tragedy struck with the murder of her mother, Nathlie Francis-Hamilton in 2013.
The service of thanksgiving for the life of Stacy Ann Ellis took on a theme of celebration for the life of a woman that was well loved by her family and friends.
The officiating minister was reverend Johnathan O. Hemmings, while the organist was Trevor Francis.
The almost two hour-long service saw several tributes being given whether in the words of remembrance for the life of Stacy Ann Ellis or with songs of worship.
Tributes were given by pastor Lucille Gooden, Stacy Ann Ellis’ cousin, Dorren Bascoe and the St Ann Infirmary. The latter pointing out that Ellis brought “laughter, happiness and joy to the infirmary”, after which an emotionally charged gospel song was delivered by an employee at the infirmary, Karen Guy.
Though the victim of hit and run accident recently that left him hospitalized, being in a wheelchair did not stop Roosevelt Crooks from paying his own tribute to his cousin, Stacy Ann Ellis.
“Stacy (Ann) and I had such a good, good relationship,” Crooks pointed out. He reminisced on the days that Ellis would visit his office and started shouting out at the front “Mr Crooks” and she would let persons know “a my cousin that.”
He said also that Ellis always told him, “If me dead and yuh nuh come a me funeral, me a come fi you.” Mr Crooks called on persons attending the funeral service to “love everybody regardless of who they are.”
He later gave a heart-wrenching musical selection which included a medley of gospel songs including ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness and also ‘His Eye is on the Sparrow.”
Following a special offering collected, the eulogy of the life of Stacy Ann Ellis was read by her aunts, Audette Isaacs and Wendy Chuck-Francis.
The eulogy provided details into the life of a woman that filled the hearts of persons with joy.
She was born to parents Nathlie Francis and Leroy Ellis, who both predeceased her.
Ellis was the third child of five for her mother.
At a very young age, she had epilepsy which continued for the rest of her life. She was also diagnosed with schizophrenia at an early age.
Despite these illnesses, Stacy Ann Ellis gained her education at the Parry Town Basic School, Ocho Rios Primary School and later Ocho Rios High School.
From a young age as well, she loved singing. At the age of ten, her mother, Nathlie Francis, got married to Israel Hamilton and they moved to the community of Beecher Town in St Ann.
“Being the rebel she always was she (Stacy Ann Ellis) took to the streets of Ocho Rios, where she entertained the community with her lovely voice and infectious comedic personality and embraced all she met as friends,” Ellis’ aunt, Wendy Chuck-Francis said.
Her other aunt, Audette Isaacs, described her niece as “very witty and outspoken and most of the times very hilarious.”
“Stacy was a true entertainer as she participated in karaoke at various places in Ocho Rios,” Mrs Isaacs explained.
Stacy Ann Ellis’ “life took on new adventure,” according to her aunt, Mrs Chuck-Francis, when she (Stacy Ann) met Greg.
“Greg was all to Stacy and Stacy was all to Greg,” Mrs Chuck-Francis said.
That love between special friends produced a child, Alex Nathaniel, who was born in September of 2013.
“Stacy had multiple health issues that ravaged her body and her mind… Her health deteriorated last year. She was in and out of the hospital on a regular basis. Her most precious possession earth was her dear son, Alex,” Mrs Chuck-Francis disclosed.
She indicated that it was due to Ellis’ illness, her schizophrenic behaviour and the incapacity of her family to take care of her because she often became violent due to her illness that she was taken into the care of the infirmary.
“Between her illness, Stacy was kind, gentle, had a positive outlook on life, quoted scriptures and was a true friend,” Mrs Chuck-Francis said.
She died on April 18, leaving behind her most precious possession her son.
The first lesson was read by Ellis’ brother, Alwayne Hamilton, while the second lesson was read by Makena Francis.
The sermon was delivered by Rev. Johnathan Hemmings, who told the congregation that “the time for judgment is either here or now” and “the prerogative of judgment is neither yours nor mine.”
He said that judgment over Stacy Ann Ellis’ life was “neither yours nor mine” and any judgment about her life was “presumptuous.”
Stacy Ann Ellis, otherwise known as Shabba or Shabooty was interred at the Beecher Town Cemetery.
