Ianthy P. Prawl's Obituary
Ianthy Precilla Prawl, who inspired us with her deep loyalty to family and community, her desire for excellence in achievement, independence, beauty, and poise, who subscribed fully to always welcoming and providing care for so many others, was at home surrounded by family when her earthly life journey came to an end on August 23, 2021.
Ianthy was born on June 16, 1945, in the historic, sunken city of Port Royal, now a fishing village at the end of Kingston, Jamaica. Her parents, Theodora Burke (Dee), a homemaker, and James Prawl, a sea captain with the Harbor Masters of Jamaica, had fourteen children - Ann, Wilfred (Willie), Hildebert (Chappy), Raymond, Winnifred, Olive (Queenie), Clarence, Cecil, Clement, Norma, Roy, Clinton, and Yvonne. Ianthy was thirteenth in the ranking.
Her early years were joyously spent between Port Royal and Kencott, Kingston where she resided with her older brother Willie and wife Hyacinth and their children, Barbara and Deana. Ianthy was that quiet, beautiful child, who was adored by the many older siblings and the growing throngs of nieces, nephews, and cousins. This beauty was acknowledged by the community when she was the first to be crowned Miss Port Royal at the time of Jamaica’s Independence in 1962. She was a very active member of the historic St Peter’s Anglican Church, Port Royal and sang in the choir for many years. On passing the selective 12+ Common Entrance Examination, she attended Kingston Technical High School (KTHS) from 1960-1964. At KTHS she pursued Commercial/Secretarial Studies that started her on a distinguished career path.
After graduating Kingston Technical she worked at the Institute of Jamaica and the administrative office of Servwell of Jamaica Limited, until she migrated to New York in 1969. In NY, she worked at several prominent legal firms, accumulating extensive work experience and expertise as a Legal Secretary. She worked at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher from 1989 until retiring in 2016.
Ianthy resided in Brooklyn with her daughters Nicole and later Tami. She continued caring for those back home in Port Royal, continued to take care of her immediate and extended family in Brooklyn, and continued to have the goal of seeing her children achieve high academic success. She did all this with such an apparent easy acceptance of her role as dutiful daughter, mother, sister, trusted aunt, cousin, and friend. While living in Brooklyn, she faithfully attended St. Mark’s Episcopal Church for many years.
In the limited time Ianthy did have for leisure, her home on Linden Boulevard, Brooklyn, nevertheless became the place for the family and members of the Port Royal immigrant community to come together for birthday parties and many other festive celebrations. The food she provided was always in abundance and the dancing most memorable. Who can forget Ianthy’s passion for sharing her jerk chicken: her signature dish! She loved her country music, especially the songs of Jim Reeves. Ianthy also loved to dance, and we can’t forget her love for buying her lottery tickets.
Also, she found the time to participate in the activities of the Past-Student Association of KTHS. Additionally, for some years, Ianthy was totally immersed as a care provider for one of her brothers, Clarence, who lived in Stamford, Connecticut. In an act of sheer unconditional love, Ianthy would loyally drive the distance every Sunday to make weekly visits with him and bring him his favorite Jamaican foods, no matter the weather conditions.
On September 1, 2016, she married the long-time love of her life, Bruce Bolander, after 8 years of being together. In this relationship she received the care of a husband who truly loved her deeply. In her retirement, they traveled together to many places around the world, including the Olympics in Rio, Senegal, Gambia, safari in Tanzania, Italy, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Puerto Rico, and (of course) Jamaica, as well as 30+ states across the US. They had plans for much more travel, cut short first by COVID and then by Ianthy’s untimely illness.
They relocated 4 years ago from Brooklyn to Lewes, Delaware and readily established a strong community network. She loved going on long walks in her small quaint town near the beach that reminded her of her birth home and was so blessed to join the local Episcopal church with the same name as her church growing up, St. Peters Episcopal Church of Lewes. Ianthy led a fulfilled, purposeful life, grounded in Christian principles.
In addition to her husband, Bruce Bolander, a retired attorney, she is survived by her daughters: Nicole Cunningham (CPA) and Tami Tiamfook-Morgan (MD) and her husband Dwane Morgan; six adored grandchildren: Kareem, Dwane Jr, David, Daniel, Mia, and Maya; and two stepsons: Daniel and Tyler; and a stepdaughter, Katherine. Also left to mourn and remember are her surviving siblings: Clement, Clinton and Yvonne, and their respective spouses; the innumerable and loved nieces, nephews, and cousins, and their children (far too numerous to list); friends developed and kept from throughout her life’s journey; and the entire Port Royal community.
The loss is immense, but we have all the reasons to be grateful for the time she spent with us, and so we give THANKS for all the blessings and even the struggles that eventually enriched her life. We CELEBRATE her life and the legacy of showing us how to LOVE. As long as we live, she LIVES.
A Viewing will be held on Friday, September 3, 2021, from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Frank R. Bell Funeral Home, 536 Sterling Place, Brooklyn, NY. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, September 4, 2021, at 10:00 AM, at The Church of St. Mark, 1417 Union Street, Brooklyn, NY, where friends may call beginning at 8:30 AM. A repass will follow the services at St. Mark's Day School, 1346 President Street, Brooklyn, NY.
This service will be live-streamed at https://youtube.com/c/TheChurchofStMarkBrooklynNY for all those who cannot attend in person.
A Burial Service will be held on Saturday, September 11, 2021, at 1:00 PM at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, 200 South 2nd Street, Lewes, DE, followed by interment at St. Peter’s Episcopal Cemetery, 660 Pilottown Road, Lewes, DE. Repass to follow.
Gifts in memory of Ianthy P. Prawl may be directed to support the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center. Please make checks payable to Johns Hopkins University. Gifts may be mailed with a memo indicating that this gift is in memory of Ianthy P. Prawl to the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, 750 East Pratt Street, Suite 1700, Baltimore, MD 21202 or make a gift online.
Donations may also be sent by check or wire to Port Royal Benevolent Society 2019
Account # 065277069
Bank: National Commercial Bank, 37 Duke Street, Kingston, Jamaica.
Please sign the virtual guestbook located on the tribute page.
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