Esmay Nerissa Facey, 92, passed away at home Nov. 18. She was born in Bull Savannah, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica to the late Isaac and Elnora (Edwards) Lewis.
She was orphaned by the age of 12 and, by the age of 16, purchased a sewing machine, teaching not only herself but other young women in her district how to sew and create fashionable items. Esmay later moved to Kingston where she continued sewing and then later operated a restaurant and bar, prior to emigrating to the United States Jan. 4, 1960, and celebrated this anniversary with her adopted country of opportunity. She became a U.S. citizen. She filed and helped numerous relatives immigrate to restart productive lives in the United States.
She worked as an accomplished seamstress for many years at Gimbel’s New York and she will be remembered for her sense of fashion and creativity, never wearing an outfit she didn’t customize. After retiring from Gimbels, she moved to Palm Coast, Florida and, in later years, with family in Lincroft and later Red Bank.
She was fiercely independent, cheerful, creative and loved gardening, crocheting, sewing and creating new and innovative things like the shoulder jackets. When the pandemic began, she made masks for friends and family. As the family genealogist, she would recall all the relatives now documented online. She loved going to the Red Bank Senior Center, especially on Bingo day and made friends whom she cared about always.
She was predeceased by her husband Hector G. Facey (1973); her daughters Ardeen (infant) and JoAnn Elliott; her grandchildren Sandra Stephenson and Demetrius Elliott; her siblings, Viris, Hamlin, Violet Maud, Doris, Linny, Isaac II, Justin (Kermit) and Verna Lewis.
Surviving is her son Winthrope (Duke) Rochester Sr. and her daughters, Laura (Panzie) Hilton and Nancy Facey Blackwood (husband Philip); her sister, Lurline Melva Campbell and her grandchildren: Kisha, Stephen, Haley, Romain, Yanique, Yandi, Samuel, Roza, Winthrope Jr., Winston, Nikoy, numerous great and great great-grandchildren as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
She is also survived by Nadine Maude Baptiste, her caregiver who became her adopted daughter and partner in her sneaky shopping sprees.
All arrangements are private and under the direction of the John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Red Bank Senior Center Advisory Board, 90 Monmouth St., Red Bank, NJ 07701 in honor of Esmay Facey. If you are a local gardener, donations to the Red Bank Seed Library would be appreciated.
The article originally appeared in the December 3 – 9, 2020 print edition of The Two River Times.
