Sylvia Ruth McClure, beloved mother, aunt, cousin, sister, and friend, passed away July 31, 2019 at the age of 58. Born on August 18, 1960 in Clarendon, Jamaica, she was the daughter of the late Eulalee (née Campbell) and George Washington Fagan. The second of six children, she moved to London, England with her older sister Doreen in 1973, joining her parents who had moved there years prior. It was in London at Barclays Bank where she began her career in the financial sector that continued when she moved across the Atlantic to the United States in 1994. She earned many awards and honors, including Regions Bank's Better Life Award, for her work, which she considered her calling. She loved helping her clients achieve their goals and took great pride in what she did.
A loving mother, Sylvia was dedicated to her children and cheered them on in everything-their basketball games, band concerts, world travels, and pilot dreams. She was always present, teaching them to take risks, dream big, believe in themselves, and never give up.
You could often hear Sylvia on the phone, laughing as she checked up on family in Jamaica, England, Canada, and across the U.S. She was always the one to send birthday cards and call for the holidays. Community, in general, was important to her, and she invested her time and energy in cultivating connections between people, evident in her service as the president of the Jamaican Chamber of Commerce, a fundraiser for Food for the Poor, and a leader in her Home Owners Association. She was often sought after for her advice and generously shared her wisdom as easily as shared the sweet potatoes and strawberries from her garden.
A Christian, she was a member of Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Marietta.
She loved life and lived it in style: sunglasses in the summer time and her nails painted year round. She was always ready to smile for a photo, her arm usually wrapping around you as she looked into the camera. She enjoyed traveling, attending plays, going to the movies, cooking, and participating in her local library's book club. On any given sunny afternoon, you could find her dancing and bopping her head to her favorite Reggae and RnB songs in her living room or at Wednesday Wind Down at Centennial Olympic Park. The life of the party, she was bold and rarely shy.
She lived her life holding others up and will be remembered for the impact she has had on so many.
She is preceded by her parents and survived by her children, Charleen and Darryl; siblings, Doreen, Paulette, Timothy, Cliff, and Paul; nieces and nephews, Vanessa, Karen, Elisha, Justin, Kisha, Bianca, Natalie, Jordan, Luke, Richie, Leah, Shardonae, Sariya, Omar, Sheldon, Neveah, and Shay; cousins Lilieth, Keneshia, Nursita, Magen, Raymond, Elaine, Sylvan; and other family and friends.
Funeral Services will begin at 10:00 am on Saturday, August 24, 2019 at Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Marietta with Pastor Sammie Dow officiating. Visitation and viewing will occur an hour prior to the service at 9:00 am. Interment will follow at Kennesaw Memorial Park with repast taking place back at the church.