Rev. Dr. Remona Letasha Farley

Remona "Mona" Letasha Farley, beloved mother and friend, passed away surrounded by loves ones at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. She was 49 years old.

Born on January 15, 1977, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Brenda Farley and Earnest Graham Jr., Remona was raised by her grandmother, Easter Farley, alongside her brother John Farley. From a young age, she was taught strength. Growing up in a single-parent household in poverty was not always easy, but she was able to rise above it. As a child, she became an overachiever and put her best effort into anything and everything she did. Remona developed a love for reading - by 2nd grade, she was already reading at a 4th grade level. At the age of 8, she also began to love writing. Remona used these gifts as a source of peace and comfort, not only to help herself, but others as well.

In high school, Remona attended Latin Academy, where she was not only known as a basketball star, but also as someone people gravitated toward due to her intelligence and kind spirit. After graduating, she was on the rise, being the first person in her family to go to college. Remona attended Boston University, where immersion in other cultures only grew her passion for helping others. At this stage in her life, she wanted to become a heart surgeon for children, to mend the hearts of young lives. While attending Boston University, she encountered God for the first time and ultimately learned that God's plan does not always align with our own.

Remona would always tell the story of the night she found God. She had been invited to a church event on campus by a roommate. She told the roommate that if she could not find her shoes to go out to the club, she would attend the event. As you can guess, she was not able to find those shoes, so she kept her word. At the event, she expressed that it felt as though there was a fire under her seat that compelled her to get up and accept God into her life. From there, everything changed.

Remona transferred to the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where her love for God grew stronger. After some time, she kept feeling that something was pulling her back home and that she had work to do there. Remona transferred one last time to UMass Boston, which became a pivotal point in her life. It was there she realized her way of helping people would no longer be as a surgeon, but that she was called to help others through her gift of writing. After seeking God and doing some deep inward reflection, Remona decided to change her major to Psychology and Sociology, to use her interpersonal and social skills as well as her love for people. Throughout this period of her life, writing remained vital - to record dreams she had been shown by God and to spread the gospel to those who could not see His works in their lives.

At one point, Remona worked as a Financial Analyst, but it did not last long, as that was not God's calling on her life. In 2002, she received her license to preach from Metropolitan Baptist Church. During this time, she also took courses at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary until becoming pregnant with her daughter, Miracle Smith, and soon after, her son, David Smith.

In 2006, Remona was diagnosed with Lupus and spent a summer in the hospital with two small children at home. During this time, she began to question God's calling on her life, as she was faced with illness, the loss of the woman who raised her, and the inability to work. Remona attended Massage Therapy School in 2007, where she began to feel better in her battle with Lupus and used this new gift to help and care for others. She then attended Andover Newton Theological School, where she was granted a full scholarship she had not even applied for - God was still at work in her life. She obtained her master's and doctorate degrees, becoming Rev. Dr. Remona Letasha Farley, against all odds - surviving missed bullets, battling Lupus and MS, and enduring car accidents that all tried to take her out, but God kept her.

Remona loved cooking and being adventurous. She enjoyed being near the water, trying all different types of food, caring for animals, attending sporting events, making art, singing, and dancing. Remona was a jack-of-all-trades - she even explored stand-up comedy. Her tenacity and courage never wavered. The strength, kindness, drive, and inspiration that Remona embodied will be greatly missed. There was nobody like Rev. Dr. Remona "Mona" Letasha Farley.

Remona is survived by her children, Miracle Smith and David Smith of Boston; her father, Ernest Graham Jr of Boston; two sisters, Rochelle Graham of Worchester, and Nicole Stalling of Georgia. Along with many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and, cousins.

She was preceded in death by her sibilings, John Farley and Tyronsa Farley; her mother, Brenda Farley; grandmother, Fannie "Easter" Farley.