The Tribune

By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

A VIBRANT soul lost her fight against stage four breast cancer last Friday.

Tamara Smith was said to be the “epitome of love” by those who knew her. She was a part of a sisterhood who referred to themselves as the “Lotus Crew”.

The group is made up of six women who were friends from junior high school to now: Ms Smith, Tia Knowles, Sherwaine Ferguson, Shavunka McKinney, Khalieha Cunningham and Indira Hanna.

While reflecting on the life of her dear friend, Ms Ferguson said Ms Smith was selfless.

“She was always a sweet person, she was always caring and I would say she is a very selfless person. Sometimes you have so many selfish people, but she would always put aside her feelings and what she was going through to make sure you were okay most times.

“She just always wanted to make sure we were okay. When I went to visit her in Miami in the hospital, you know she asked me ‘Sherwaine, are you okay?’ Even though I am literally looking at her laying in this bed in pain, she wanted to know how I was doing. That was always her for me.”

After being diagnosed in January 2020 until her untimely demise, Ms Smith remained “strong”, according to her friend.

She said: “She really was strong. Even our last conversation she and I had, although she was weak and I could hear the pain in her voice, she still had faith.”

Despite the circumstances, Ms Smith’s strength and resilience were influential to those around her.

Another friend, Ms Knowles said the deceased was more than a friend to her, but rather a sister.

She spoke in admiration of the strength Ms Smith had embodied.

“It was at a point, that behind closed doors you would not imagine the pain that she was going through,” she said. “The depression, the anxiety, the fear — all of these that nobody never knew because she never showed that part of her. I guess that was her assignment by God, to show faith.”

In an interview with The Tribune earlier this year, Ms Smith shed light on difficulties she faced with treatment, however she remained optimistic.

“Treatment at this time is very difficult. I had a port in before that I got treatment in, but I had to take that out because it got infected, so I don’t have that anymore. I recently had something that they call a PICC line injected, but that got infected after two weeks so that had to come out,” she said at the time.

The former straw market vendor and owner of Island Queen Boutique left behind three children ages nine, eight and three.

“Her children brought her so much joy because they remind her so much of herself. At the same time, it makes us sad to know that she is no longer here, but she did a wonderful job in growing them up into the children that they are now,” Ms Knowles told The Tribune.

The “Lotus Crew” is committed to carrying on the legacy of their friend as she represented a key part of their lives.