Nearly everyone at New Hope Baptist Church knew Velma Sheffield, who died in Aurora on Sept. 2 at age 91, as “Mom.”
As her own children became parents, and then grandparents, and then great-grandparents, Sheffield became a maternal constant in their lives, and in the lives of their adult friends.
“Most people my age have lost their parents,” explained her daughter, Evelyn McGregor.
“My mother became Mom to everyone. People at church called her ‘Mom.’ Everybody at my work knew her as ‘Mom.’ They would ask, ‘How’s Mom?’ and ‘How’s Mom doing?”‘
At New Hope Baptist and in other circles, people welcomed the sight of Sheffield, a small, trim woman with a cloud of salt-and-pepper hair, and a weakness for pastel clothing trimmed in rhinestones.
Restless children knew that Sister Sheffield was more likely to tolerate them than chastise them for being inattentive during service.
She did keep an eye on the behavior of her own children – and then on her grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
She made sure they dressed well for church, remained alert during the service and sang in the church choir.
“She was the type of person that liked to sit and talk to you about life,” longtime friend Sarah Kelly said. “She liked to talk about her experiences. She went to games. She went to stock car races. She went to Juneteenth. She would talk to me about her family.”
Born the second of 12 children to Willie and Ada Kendrick in Floresville, Texas, she was a lifelong Baptist and a woman who knew hard work.
“She lived through cotton pickin’, peanut pickin’, and did domestic housework, and she was a homemaker to the five of us,” McGregor said.
When Sheffield became too infirm to take the New Hope Baptist bus on Sundays, she rode in the car with daughter McGregor and her husband, James, who were Sheffield’s primary caretakers.
Before services, Sheffield habitually watched Sunday morning Bible shows on Black Entertainment Television, keeping time when the choir launched into spirituals and gospel music.
At her funeral service Monday, New Hope Baptist pastor Dr. James D. Peters cited the Fifth Commandment – honor thy father and mother.
“This is a passage I never used before in a eulogy,” he said. “You called her ‘Mom.’ I called my mother ‘Mama.’ And if you treat your mama right, this is the only commandment where God makes you a promise: That your days may be long upon the earth.”
Survivors include sons Vernon Sheffield of Los Angeles and the Rev. Perry C. Sheffield Jr. of Savannah, Ga.; daughters Annie Harvey, Marie Pope and Evelyn L. McGregor, all of Denver; brother Howard Kendrick of Los Angeles; sisters Ida M. Wilbanks of Los Angeles and Esteen Martin of San Antonio; 14 grandchildren; 18 great-grandchildren; and three great-great-grandchildren.
Staff writer Claire Martin can be reached at 303-820-1477 or cmartin@denverpost.com.
