Priscilla Porterfield Thomas

Priscilla Porterfield Thomas, daughter of the late Stanley Porterfield and Ellen Felder Porterfield, was born in Swansea, South Carolina, on July 18, 1932. The eighth of nine children, she was baptized at an early age at St. John Baptist Church in Hopkins, South Carolina, and attended public schools there. In 1951 she moved to Newark, New Jersey, where she joined Mount Pleasant Baptist Church the following year. She remained an active member for the rest of her life, singing in the A. W. T. Chorus, serving as Treasurer of the Church’s Aid, and participating in the BYPU.

Priscilla met and married the love of her life, Robert L. Thomas, who preceded her in death in 2004. She was a devoted employee of White Conveyors Company in Kenilworth, New Jersey, for thirty-one years before retiring. A woman of quiet strength and faithfulness, she cherished her family and her church community.

Priscilla was preceded in death by her husband, her daughter Mary Smith, four sisters—Willodean Howell, Louise Jeffery, Florine Myers, and Corine Person—and four brothers—Rudolph, Mack, Lee, and Nathaniel Porterfield. She leaves to cherish her memory her grandson Dwayne Smith of Newark, her son-in-law Norman Smith of Newark, her niece and caregiver Eva Myers of Irvington, New Jersey, along with nieces Christine Eubanks of Columbia, South Carolina, Debra Black of Middletown, Delaware, Patricia Porterfield and Joann Porterfield of New Jersey, adopted niece Debra Lee of Charlotte Hall, Maryland, nephew Dennis Porterfield of Newark, and many other loving relatives and friends.