Bernetta Brinkley

BERNETTA BRINKLEY, daughter of the late James Allen Hendricks Sr. and Jessie Hayes Hendricks, was born on February 7, 1926 in Richmond, Virginia, the third child of thirteen children. She departed this earthly realm to be with her Heavenly Father on Friday, February 21, 2014. at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. "Teeney" (as she was affectionately called by family and friends) was educated in the Baltimore City Public School System. She was raised in a Christian home and accepted Christ at an early age. She attended New Shiloh Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, pastored by the late Reverend W.W. Allen. She as very active, attending Sunday School and sang in the "Rose Bud" choir directed by Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts. She was joined in Holy Matrimony to the late Robert Louis Brinkley on May 7, 1946 (at the time of his death they had been married 66 years). She converted to the Catholic religion to align her faith with her husband. During World War II, she worked for several years for the Department of Defense at the Edgewood Arsenal in Edgewood, Maryland as a weapons assembly line worker, so that she and her husband Bob could save and purchase their first home. She was a long time member of St. Edward's Catholic Church, where she served on the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of Saint Peter Claver and the Ladies Sodality. She was always ready to lend a helping hand. She was a faithful member of the church until her health became fragile. Bernetta was an avid reader, who read the Baltimore Sun, the Washington Post, and the Afro American newspaper from cover to cover on a daily basis, along with the many magazines she had a subscription with. She enjoyed when Spring arrived so she could tend to her garden in the backyard and her flower pots on the front porch. She would share her beautiful plants with neighbors. She enjoyed being in the kitchen, baking pies, cookies for the Christmas season, or trying new recipes she'd seen in magazines or had gotten from her sister Myrtle. For the Hendricks, Hayes and Lee Family Reunion events and gatherings, she served as the treasurer of the planning committee for many years. Our family members were very grateful for her diligence for keeping track of what was paid and who paid.

Tributes

Bernetta Brinkley

February 7, 1926 - February 21, 2014