Janine M. Lezama

JANINE MARIA LEZAMA, daughter of Gregory and Monica Lezama was born on January 28, 1974 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. She departed this life on November 9, 2020 after losing her battle with cancer; a battle she fought fearlessly until the end. Janine received her early education in Trinidad and Tobago, and graduated from St. Dominic’s Convent in Trinidad in July of 1991. In 1992, at the age of eighteen, she migrated to the United States of America and made this country her home for the last twenty-eight years. She attended Baltimore City Community College from 1992 to 1996 and in 2001 she enrolled in Towson University, where she read for and successfully completed her Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology in 2004 and her Master of Science Degree in Psychology in 2008. Janine had a keen interest in education and enjoyed working with children. She spent fifteen years at The Painting Workshop, from 1995 to 2010, working as an Art Teacher/Instructor and Studio Manager and became a role model to many children. In September of 2010 she took up the post of Program Director and Teacher at Vera Shank Pre-Kindergarten School in Baltimore City, a post she held for four years before moving on the Columbia Academy Preschool as an Assistant Director in 2014. Her passion for education and children took her to Primrose Elementary Private School in 2016, where she held the post of Director and Teacher, a post she held until 2020. Janine was a light to anyone who met or interacted with her. Even in her darkest moments, she was able to smile, to laugh, to joke, and to look at the positive which she was determined to bring about even in moments of darkness. She was the perfect role model and friend, accepting of every person as they are, kind, compassionate, loving, humorous, patient, and with an unfettered positive outlook on life, no matter the situation. She had the most infectious laughter, the biggest smile and the warmest of hugs. A hug from Janine was actually a squeeze, letting you know how much you were loved by her. Janine leaves to mourn: her parents, Gregory and Monica Lezama; her sisters, Denise Lezama and Leah Godspeed; her brother-in-law, Dominic Godspeed; her nieces, Tishell Green and Lenise Lezama; her life partner, Brenton Francis; her god-children, Eliana Lewis, Cael Ferdinand and Leilani Webb; her many best friends, adopted nieces and nephews, the Lezama family, the Paul Family and a host of other relatives and friends.

Tributes

Janine M. Lezama

January 28, 1974 - November 9, 2020