Shawnta Moore-Lee.

My name is Charla Davis and I am the niece of the deceased Shawnta Moore-Lee.  She was born December 23, 1967 and was taken from us on March 23, 2008.  Although she was my aunt by marriage, it had nothing to do with blood relation because our relationship was love. My aunt Shawnta was a God-fearing, kindhearted, lively, fun, and a beautiful woman.  The one thing that always stands out in my mind, when I think about her, was her infectious smile.  Even if I was having a bad day, a call to her would turn my entire day around.  I vividly remember that I would make it a point to go her office when she worked at Montefiore Hospital.  I would walk in stressed out from school or work with my head hanging low or tears in my eyes, and she would just smile and hug me.  Never any questions asked in these exchanges, but she always knew what to say and what to do.

She was very much a caregiver to others, from her chosen career, as a phlebotomist to her family.  She never had the opportunity to bore children of her own, but she always seemed to have a house full of kids and welcomed us all equally.  I vividly recall having talks about her with me about my future life and how much I looked forward to finishing school and becoming an adult and working in a career that I loved.  I wanted her to be right by my side for all of the milestones I would have, from getting married, becoming a doctor, to having children.  Although my children won’t get to know her, the way I care for them, the way I saw her care for her husband and visitors, I run my house in the same order.  She would always serve you the first plate of food and if you wanted a second helping…well then you were on your own!

My aunt Shawnta was also excellent at keeping her home a beautiful home, from décor to cooking, she could do it all.  She was very meticulous and I recall every Sunday would start with church, then home to start dinner, and while dinner was finishing up, she would iron her work scrubs for the week.  She put her best foot forward in everything that she did.  

One of our favorite past times was going shopping and then sneaking all the stuff we bought into the house so my uncle wouldn’t see it.  I remember taking her driving to practice, because she was finally ready to conquer one of her goals, which was to get her drivers license.  Our relationship was built on supporting each other in whatever way we could.  Some people may think it was odd that some of the roles were reversed in our relationship, however, I say, I was blessed to have the opportunity to share in giving and receiving love, even if it was taken away sooner than I was ready for.

I know my aunt watches over me every day and I thank God for the time that I had with her.  If my aunt could have left the world with something, it would be to find joy in every day and be intentional about loving yourself and others.  She not only would say this but this was the example that she put out into the world.