Zeinna, nicknamed “Babzie”, was born in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica, on November 28, 1944 to Ernest and Cecilia Nembhard (nee Blake), as the 5th of 9 children. She and her siblings were raised in a loving, Seventh-day Adventist family, by parents who instilled in them, above all, the value of the immeasurable love and unbreakable bonds of family, and a deep and abiding faith. The dedicated practice by their parents, Mama and Papa, of knitting their family together through their love of God, each other, and all those with whom they had contact, instilled in Zeinna and her siblings, the foundation and pattern they used to raise their own families. Memories of laughter, delectable meals of innumerable shared family recipes, and family prayer and worship, were indelibly imprinted on a young Zeinna, who felt the love of her family, and nurtured her faith in her Heavenly Father, when they prayed together and thanked God for the blessing of her healing from asthma.
While she grew up in the Mountainside and Brucefield Districts, educated at Mountainside Primary and Williamsfield Seventh-Day Adventist schools, she discovered that she had a knack for making clothes, often drawing paper dolls and designing and creating clothes for them. A local seamstress recognized her talent, took Zeinna under her wing, and taught her dressmaking, where her well-honed skills were shared through styling outfits for her family and friends, and making dresses for a variety of occasions. After she pursued her creative vision and lived in Kingston for a couple of years, she followed her passion and ministry of caring for others and began her medical career at Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth.
It was during this time that Zeinna met and married her sweetheart, Brenton Forbes, and together they raised four beautiful girls, Angela “Jello”, Michell “Sophia”, Maxine “Max”, and Carolyn “Carol”.
After migrating to Boston, Massachusetts, to be with Brenton, who had relocated there the previous year, Zeinna studied and received her GED as well as some college credits. Zeinna continued her passion and ministry in caring for others working as a nursing assistant for various nursing agencies, and retired from the Lemuel Shattuck Hospital in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, where she had worked as a surgical assistant for more than 30 years.
Brenton often tells the story of how he was the one who took Zeinna to Boston Temple, and she immediately made it her church home. Even though she would visit other churches, Boston Temple was where her heart was, where she shared her passion and ministry in caring for others, and it remained her church home for over 42 years. It was at Boston Temple that she formed lifelong friendships as the adopted Mother, Sister, Aunt and Grandmother to many, and where she served in most, if not all, of the church ministries, most recently as Head Elder. Zeinna was particularly passionate about serving in Lifeboat (providing food to the community); as well as leading out and participating in numerous prayer ministries. It seemed as though her days lasted longer than 24 hours with the amount of time that she selflessly devoted to the many ministries she loved.
Zeinna is best known for her gift of praying with and for others. You could call her at any time to pray, and the times you would call to check on her, she would imperceptibly turn the conversation around and make it about you. Following the Holy Spirit’s leading, she was generous with her advice, whether those of us who were on the receiving end could fully appreciate it at the time, but we knew that her advice usually proved to be insightfully beneficial. A call would never go unanswered with Mother/Sister Z. If she was on her landline when her cell phone rang, she would stay on the landline and answer her cell phone too. Many times, even during her illness, she would often be on both her landline and her cell phone. There were times when she would be on both lines, and a third call would come in for her, on her daughter’s cell phone and she would actually answer! She had the knack for making everyone feel important and loved, and the continued blessings of her selfless gift of prayers for others continue to impact all she knew.
Zeinna passed peacefully in her sleep during the evening of August 22, 2022, surrounded by family and close friends.
She leaves behind her loving husband of over 50 years, Brenton Forbes; her children, Angela “Jello”, Michell “Sophia”, Maxine “Max”, Carolyn “Carol” William Forbes-Graham; her grandchildren, Andrew Nembhard, Rayshawn Henry, Tyler Lindo, Christopher Sandi, Demetry Roberts, Jacintha Fontellio, and Julius Fontellio; her stepchildren, Clinton “Kenny” Forbes, Leonie Forbes-Sanderson, Donna Forbes, Judy “Maxine” Forbes-Smith, Sonia “Shelley” Forbes- Marsh, Julian Forbes-Samuels, Heather “Allie” Forbes-Carridice, Kawaina “Princess” Forbes, Natalie Forbes, and Delray “Brem” Forbes; her adopted children, Authese McKnight, Sharon Hamel, Andrea Robinson, Reggie Neil, Orlando Hall, and Patricia Lewis; her siblings, Arnett Watson, Daphne “Birdie” Brown, James “Doctor” Nembhard; Sisters-in-law, Sonia Nembhard, Jackie “Dor Dor” Nembhard; Special mention - Beryl Channer, Lama Smith; and a host of other relatives and friends, nieces, nephews, cousins, adopted children and adopted grandchildren.
Rest in peace, our dear sweet Zeinna. We will see you again on that great getting up morning.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the memorial service for Zeinna.
Services to be Held on: Sunday, September 18, 2022 Viewing 10am – 11am Service begins at 11am Location: Hyde Park Seventh-Day Adventist Church 6 Webster St Hyde Park, MA 02136