Vernita McClaurin

There are some lives that are measured in years, and then there are lives that are measured in impact, in laughter shared across kitchen tables, in wisdom passed down between generations, in the quiet but steady ways a woman shapes the world around her. This was the kind of life lived by Vernita McClaurin.

Born in Chicago, Illinois on November 8, 1959 to Henry B. Ewing and Helen Ewing, Vernita was the eighth child in a sibship of eleven. Vernita was a faithful Christian, who accepted Christ at an early age. She was reared in Grand Rapids, MI in a household where strength, resilience, sister and brotherhood were not just taught but lived. She was preceded in death by her parents, her brothers Albert L. Ewing, Willie C. Ewing, David A. Ewing and her sister Janice Ewing, whose love and legacy remain deeply woven into the family story.

A proud graduate of Ottawa Hills High School, Class of 1977, Vernita (AKA “Sweet Neat from Cherry Street”) carried with her not just an education, but a sense of identity, pride, and possibility. On June 26, 1980, she married the love of her life John Theotis McClaurin. When describing her love for John she would often say “In 100 Lives, In 100 Worlds, In Any Version of Reality, I Would Still Choose Him.”

She loved deeply, lived fully and cherished friends that became family to her. Her close friendships were steady, enduring, full of shared memories and loads of inside jokes.

Vernita was rooted and committed to her family, devoted to her children, and present in the lives of those she loved. She raised two children Rontae and LaToiya, both of whom carries her strength, her standards, and her spirit. She delighted in her grandchildren and great children who affectionately called her “Nana”, Jontae, Taevon, Rontae II, Mason, and Rontae III, spoiling them with a tenderness that only a doting grandmother can give. But, her love did not stop at bloodlines. Her love was Expansive, Inclusive and Generous.

And then there was her generous personality. You did not have to wonder where you stood with her; she spoke the truth, often with love. To know her was to encounter a woman who had lived life long enough to understand what mattered and who had the courage to live accordingly.

She leaves to mourn her transitioning and cherish her memory: two children Rontae and LaToiya, three grandchildren, Jontae, Taevon, Rontae II, two great grandchildren Mason and Rontae III, six sisters, Jurline (Mark) DeGraaf, Jeanette Williams, Maelene Ewing, Rodney (Barbara) McFall, Anthony (Pandora) McFall, Sandra Bobo, Kimberly Ewing, Tammy McFall, and a host of beloved nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, great-great nieces and nephews, cousins, extended family, and friends all of whom were blessed to be claimed by her love.