DECEMBER 2022 — TRANSITIONS —

Mrs. Bernella Rose

March 8, 1954–October 23, 2022

Mrs. Bernella Rose of Dothan, Alabama, passed away on Sunday, October 23, 2022. She was 68 years old.

Bernella Knight Rose was born to the late Mrs. Bernice Knight Turner in Clio, Alabama. She is the second child of four. She grew up in Clio and is a product of the Barbour County Public School System. She is a 1971 graduate of Clio High School.

She received a Bachelor of Science in early childhood education from Tuskegee (Institute) University and a Master of Education in reading/ language arts from Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama. She is a retired educator from Auburn City Schools, Auburn, Alabama, where she worked for over thirty years. She was chosen twice as The Teacher of the Year representing Dean Road Elementary School. In 1986, she was chosen Auburn City Schools’ Teacher of the Year. In addition, she was an active member of the Auburn City Schools Teachers’ Association, where she served as President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer, respectively. After retiring, she moved to Dothan, Alabama, and worked in the Dothan City Schools for ten years as a tutor.

Bernella is a lifelong member of Saint Peter African Methodist Episcopal Church, Clio, Alabama, where the Rev. Dwight Ingram is the Pastor. She is a trustee, director of Lay Activities and Promotion, Missionary Education director of the Women’s Missionary Society, and Christian Education director. She has served as Sunday School Secretary, teacher, and member of the Usher Board.

Currently, she served as Episcopal District president of the Ninth Episcopal District Lay Organization. She has also served as Ninth Episcopal District Lay treasurer, financial secretary, and corresponding secretary, respectively, serving eight years in each position.

She has served as conference president of the South and Southeast Conference Lay Organizations, conference first vice president, second vice president, and third vice president. She also served as the president of the Troy District Lay Organization before our conference and Episcopal District redistricting.

Bernella has served as Ninth Episcopal District Young People and Children Division’s director, South Conference Young People and Children Division’s director, and South Conference Women’s Missionary Society president. She is a life member of the Women’s Missionary Society.

Bernella served as a member of the Daniel Payne College Legacy Village Foundation, Ministry of Economic Development, chairperson of the Nominating Committee for the Southeast Conference Women’s Missionary Society, first vice president of the Southeast Richard Allen Resource Center, and one of the advisors for the “WE SPEAK” of the Connectional Lay Organization’s magazine under the director of Public Relations.

Bernella has been a delegate to many biennials, quadrennials, and general conferences, having served on the Episcopal Committee in 1984 and the Revisions Committee in 2012 and 2016. During the 2021 General Conference, she served as co-leader of the delegation, member of the Credentials Committee, and member of the Candidates’ Forum. She has received many religious, community, and civic awards.

She is married to Mr. Charles Rose, a Vietnam veteran, and a retired electrician.

Those Bernella leaves to rejoice in her love include her husband, Charles Rose; her siblings, Diane, Leon, and Loretta; godsister Lela Baker; six nephews, three nieces; a host of relatives, friends, and the St. Peter AME Church family.

Presiding Elder Joseph Eustaze Sanchez (1934-2022)

The Rev. Joseph Eustaze Sanchez peacefully passed away on November 21, 2022 surrounded by his family. Born June 24, 1934 in Lake Butler, Florida, he was married for 63 years to Inez Gallaway Sanchez who preceded him in death in 2017.

The Rev. Sanchez served both as an educator and pastor. He served as the principal at R.V. Daniels Elementary, Long Branch Elementary, Moncrief Elementary, and Pinedale Elementary Schools until his retirement in 1992. As pastor, he served at St. James AME Church in Orange Park, Florida; Mount Olive AME Church in East Palatka, Florida; Fountain Chapel AME Church, Greater Payne AME Church, and Mount Olive AME Church in Jacksonville, Florida. From 1995 – 2009, he also served as the presiding elder of the Pensacola District of the West Florida Annual Conference, Central Jacksonville District of the East Annual Conference and the Alachua-Central District of the East Annual Conference in the 11th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Sanchez will be greatly missed by his three children, Zina Sanchez, Yvette Sanchez, and Joseph F. Sanchez; Grandchildren, the Rev. Dr. Shakira Sanchez-Collins (the Rev. Craig Robinson, Jr.) and Jamal Sanchez; and sister, Lillie Mae Young. He also leaves several nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives, and friends who will cherish his memory.

Rev. Dr. Almyra Oveta Fuller (1955-2022)

The Rev. Dr. Almyra Oveta Fuller was born on August 31, 1955, in Mebane, North Carolina. Deborah Woods Fuller, her mother, was a teacher and her father, Herbert R. Fuller, managed the family farm. Fuller grew up near Yanceyville, North Carolina. As a child biology intrigued her at an early age. She was amazed at how her grandmother recovered quickly from being bitten by a water moccasin after receiving antivenin, which was an antidote for snake venom. Although her grandmother's snake bite contributed to her appreciation for biology, there were also two notable biology teachers, Ms. Elam and Mr. Majette, who inspired her as well. After graduating from high school, she earned an Aubrey Lee Brooks Scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received a B.A. in biology in 1977. Fuller continued her education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to complete her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology in 1983.

In 1983, Fuller attended the University of Chicago for a postdoctoral fellowship. In 1988, she became an assistant professor in the department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Michigan Medical School; in 1995, she was promoted to associate professor with tenure. She also served as a faculty associate for the Center for Global Health, STEM Initiative, and African Studies Center at the University of Michigan. She is currently the associate professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Medical School and faculty in the STEM Initiative of African Studies at the University of Michigan.

In 1983, she was awarded the National Technical Association Service Award, Anna Fund Postdoctoral Award, and Thornton Professional Achievement Award. In 1987, she was also awarded the Ford Foundation fellowship and in 1992 she was awarded the NSF Career Advancement Award. Fuller’s other awards include the Woman of the Year in Human Relations by the University of Michigan Task Force (1998), the Distinguished Service Award in Microbiology and Ministry from the Missions Society, AME, the Robert Smith Community Service “Humanitarian Award,” and her biography was highlighted in “Distinguished African American Scientists of the 20th Century” (Kessler, Kidd, and Morin, Oryx Press, Phoenix, AZ, 1996). In 2012, she received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award. In January 2013, she began nine months of research in the Copperbelt region in Zambia in which her work focused on bringing biomedical information into communities through local religious leaders. During a sabbatical in 2006, Dr. Fuller traveled to several African nations, including Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia to help members of the clergy to better understand the science behind HIV and AIDS and how to help ...continued on p21 educate their congregations on the impact of AIDS in their communities. Dr. Fuller most recently served on the Vaccine and Biological Products Advisory Committee of the Food and Drug Administration whose most recent work was the emergency release of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Fuller was an ordained itinerant elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in the Michigan Annual Conference and served as an adjunct faculty member at Payne Theological Seminary. She also served for several years as a columnist for The Christian Recorder, writing a column "Getting to Zero" advocating for HIV/AIDS awareness and programs throughout the AME Church.

Fuller died on November 18, 2022, after a brief non-COVID-related illness. Funeral arrangements are forthcoming. Please keep the family in prayer.

Rev. Dr. Katurah Roseline York Cooper May 17, 1955–October 3, 2022

The Reverend Dr. Katurah York Cooper is a citizen of Liberia, the daughter of James L. and Louise C. York. Forced to flee the Liberian civil war in 1990, Dr. Cooper answered the call to preach while a refugee living in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. In 2001, she obeyed God’s call to return to Liberia to establish and pastor the Empowerment Temple African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Under her visionary leadership, the nonprofit Helping Our People Excel (H.O.P.E., Inc.) was established to empower the Liberian people through socio-economic programs and community-based initiatives. Those initiatives include an elementary school, of which 50% of the students attend tuition-free. Dr. Cooper holds a Bachelor of Science in biology, and master's degree from New York University in microbiology and parasitology, a Master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, District of Columbia), and the Doctor of Ministry from Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, Kentucky) with the Distinguished