Carrie Dereath Lawrence, beloved mother, faithful friend, and woman of God, was called home to her Lord and Savior on March 23, 2026, at the age of 96. Born on July 2, 1929, in the Borough of Manhattan, New York City, to George Lawrence and Carrie Condy, she was raised in Elmsford, New York, where the foundations of her character — faith, resilience, and an unshakeable devotion to family — were laid early and built to last.

Carrie came of age during the Great Depression and watched her beloved brothers, Donald and Altheus Lawrence, answer the call of duty during World War II. She prayed them home safely, and they returned — a testament to the power of a faithful woman's prayers. That faith never wavered. From her earliest days to her final ones, Carrie Dereath Lawrence was always a believer.

She was a woman of extraordinary gifts. Blessed with a magnificent singing voice, she studied with the finest vocal instructors New York City had to offer — because Carrie never did anything halfway. She pursued knowledge with the same determination, taking college courses at the New York Institute of Technology and Columbia University, feeding a mind that was always reaching for more.

In the 1960s, when life required sacrifice, Carrie did what great mothers do — she did what was necessary. She drove a taxi cab through the streets of New York City to care for her mother and raise her son. No complaint. No hesitation. Just love in action, every single day. She drove with such exceptional skill and confidence that a passenger — so impressed by her mastery behind the wheel — wrote her a letter inviting her to join a racing team. Her young son read that letter with wide eyes, already understanding what the rest of the world was just beginning to discover — that his mother was something extraordinary. Because Carrie Dereath Lawrence never did anything halfway. Not even driving a taxicab through New York City.

That same quiet determination carried her to a distinguished career with the United States Postal Service, where she retired with honor as a Legal Secretary supporting the Eastern Region Labor Law Attorney. She served with intelligence, discretion, and the complete trust of those she worked alongside.

Carrie made her home in Jamaica, Queens, where she built a life of meaning and substance. Through decades of faithful relationships — showing up, staying present, and loving people well — she became the kind of woman that friends and family trusted with their most precious legacies. God honored that faithfulness and blessed her abundantly.

In her later years, Carrie worshipped with Crenshaw Christian Center East, where she engaged deeply with the Word of God — right from her iPad, because MomaD was never one to be left behind. She streamed her services, fed her spirit, and kept her heart tender toward God until her very last breath.

She was known to her beloved son simply as MomaD — the D drawn from her middle name, Dereath — a name that belonged only to the two of them, a quiet symbol of a bond that neither distance, nor time, nor the hardest of circumstances could ever diminish. When her son would say, "I take after my MomaD," she would smile and gently remind him, "And your father too" — because even in that, she was gracious. She never spoke ill of anyone. She simply loved well and left the rest to God.

In her final weeks, Carrie demonstrated the same fierce determination that defined her entire life, waging a courageous four-week battle for life in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at Nassau University Medical Center. She fought with extraordinary strength and dignity, surrounded by love, never alone, never forgotten. Her family wishes to express their profound and heartfelt gratitude to Dr. Daniel DeOliveira and the entire SICU team at Nassau University Medical Center for their exceptional skill, tireless dedication, and compassionate care during those sacred and difficult weeks.

Carrie Dereath Lawrence is preceded in death by her brothers, Donald Lawrence and Altheus Lawrence, both proud veterans of World War II. She is survived by her beloved son, Michael Lawrence, and Julia; her devoted sister-in-law, Evelyn Lawrence; her niece Donita; and several nieces and nephews whose lives she touched with her faithfulness and grace.

She started with modest means and through the providence of God, the labor of her hands, and the faithfulness of her heart, she built something extraordinary. She asked for very little. She gave everything she had. And on March 23, 2026, she finally received what had been waiting for her all along.