In the quaint little settlement of Black Point, South Andros, on the 9th day of December, 1916 a beautiful baby girl was a born to the proud parents of Cornelius and Rosanna Rolle whom they named Loretta Gertrude. 'Gertie' as she was affectionately called attended the Kemp's Bay All-Age School as was the norm in that era.
At a young age, Gertie was baptized into the Baptist faith, where she was an avid student of the scriptures. She was raised and nurtured in a home where strict discipline and Christian ethics were the order of the day.
Gertie bloomed into a beautiful young lady and it was not long before she caught the eyes of the late Alexander Rodgers. A courtship ensued, and at the tender age of twenty they were united in Holy matrimony. This union was blessed with twelve lovely children, five(5) of whom predeceased her.
Due to her strong faith in God she faithfully raised her children in church. She was the type of parent who did not just send her children to church, but joined them and ensured that they were will behaved. Gertie was the disciplinarian of the family and took the scripture, ' Spare the rod, you spoil the child' to heart. Her children can now fondly recall the many times they were disciplined in love. The family attended the Mt. Pleasant Green Baptist church for a number of years but later joined the Grants Town Seventh Day Adventist Church on April 16th 1977 when she was baptized.
'Gertie' was a loving and dutiful wife and the constant companion to her husband. She firmly believed that her place was beside her husband and when he departed for work on ' the contract' as many Bahamian men did in that period, she joined him.
After returning to the Bahamas, they returned to South Andros to raise their family. Due to Gertie being well-rounded individual, she wore many hats as a young mother. She was the nurse who attended to the many scrapes and bruises of her energetic children, the counselor who gave wise and sound advice and one who listened attentively when her children wanted to talk.
'Mama ' became ill and the family had to relocate to Nassau. On July6th 1959, following the death of her husband sh sought employment at the Imperial Lighthouse Office on Bay Street for several months to support her family. As a single parent, in the early 1970s Mama sought employment as a laundress at the Princess Margaret Hospital. After working for a total of 27years, she finally retired during the mid 1980s when all of her children reached adulthood.
Mama was strong, vibrant and full of life, always managing to keep herself busy because she believed the scripture 'the Devil always find work for idle hands'. She also believed in the old adage, ' early to bed, early to rise' and most morning you could find her in the yard weeding or raking. Mama firmly believed in keeping her environment in perfect order and there was never a time you went to her home and things were out of place.
Mama loved her grandchildren and they loved her, at anytime many could be found there with here chatting and having a good time. But there was one rule all the grandchildren abided by, no running or playing in the house. This was strictly forbidden and if broken would be met with dire consequences. Mama had a great sense of humor and her infectious laughter was a delight for all to hear.
In 2004 Mama suffered a mild-stroke, and because of some challenges her health slowly began to deteriorate. Despite this, she maintained a radiant smile and cheerful attitude throughout her illness. Her children loved her dearly and ensured that she had to best of care. On Thursday March 14th, Mama had to be taken to the doctor because she refused to eat or drink and as a result of this, she was diagnosed as being dehydrated. In the early hours of Wednesday 20th March, Mama peacefully slipped away to rest until God calls her home on that great resurrection morning. " As a man lives so shall he die." Mama enjoyed a long, wonderful and fruitful life. She was a loving wife, excellent mother, dutiful grandmother and great grandmother, loyal sister, aunt, cousin, neighbor and friend.