Woodland Ridge’s employee of the month for August is Marva Clarke! Marva is originally from Jamaica and grew up the youngest of 10 kids from her mother. Her father had children from a previous marriage so that there were 21 children in total. She remembers her brothers tricking her into getting her to stop sucking her thumb. Marva loved playing volleyball, and when she was ten years old, she won the spelling bee for her school.
When she went to high school, it was at William Knibb Memorial High School, which is the same school that famous runner Usain Bolt attended! When she was six years old, Marva’s Dad passed away, and Marva’s mother raised all those children by herself working as a Pastor. Marva remembers as she got older that her future husband used to watch her walking to church. He finally came to the church to meet her. They eventually married and have three children, an older daughter whom Marva helped support so she could receive her Doctorate in Pharmacy and is now a Pharmacist.
Their younger daughter has a degree in banking and is going back to school to pursue another degree. Their son is a chauffeur and still lives in Jamaica. Marva and her husband have seven grandchildren. Her husband lays tile and wood flooring, and they just moved into a new house they purchased a few weeks ago.
The entire family loves to play tennis, so they found a home within a community that has a pool and tennis courts! Marva and her family came to the United States 17 years ago, after being invited by their Pastor to help him with their church. Marva teaches Sunday school and works with both the Women’s Ministry and the Prayer Team. Marva says she has always been very involved with her church. Some of Marva’s siblings also have left Jamaica, she has a brother here in Atlanta, a sister in Chicago and a brother in Canada!
Besides working here at Woodland Ridge, Marva works at Princeton Academy teaching pre-K children. Her belief in the importance of education has helped Marva support her children through their college years. We’re so fortunate to have Marva as part of our care staff at Woodland Ridge! She is a kind, compassionate caregiver to all of our residents!
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