Donald Edward Fenty

Donald Edward Fenty was born to the parents of the late Ismay (née Cameron) and Arthur Basil Celwine Fenty on April 27, 1936 at Georgetown Hospital in Georgetown, Guyana, South America. After a long valiant fight with multiple health issues, he peacefully departed this earthly life on Monday, January 6, 2025 at his daughter's home in Concord, NC.

Donald, his parents' second born, was an intelligent and talented man, with a kind heart. Growing up in East Bank, Demerara, Donald loved music and learned to play the piano from his mother at a young age. He enjoyed various genres especially classical and jazz. Those who had the pleasure of being a passenger in his car during the 90's, knew that the radio station was always set to CD 101.9 FM and would not be changed (no matter how many times you asked to listen to 98.7 KISS FM or 107.5 WBLS)!

Donald was an acolyte at St. Ann's Anglican Church for many years, and a student at St. Ann's Anglican School, where his formal education began; and where his father was also Headmaster. He was proud to play the piano each day as students lined up to march into the building. Donald graduated from Central High School with a General Certificate of Education (GCE), moving on to attend Georgetown School of Nursing, where he received his Nursing Degree. It was there where a young lady caught his eye and he met his lifelong love and wife of 58 years, Grace Haynes. The two courted and were known to jet set around town on Donald's motorbike.

Donald and Grace were married on a beautiful and sunny Friday morning, March 19, 1964 and began to plan their journey to immigrate to the United States. Donald, who was sponsored by Orange Memorial Hospital in Orange, NJ, would go first and his bride would eventually join him on June 19, 1966. So their journey began...

Donald and Grace were excited to grow their family and after enduring multiple losses, they welcomed four beautiful babies; Derek, Jewel, Jody, and McLean (Mac) however, only three would survive. Baby Jewel was laid to rest in February 1972 at only 6 days old, becoming their little guardian angel.

The Fenty household was always full as Donald and Grace regularly opened their doors to family members immigrating to the United States from Guyana. They knew the importance of reaching back to lend a helping hand and did so frequently.

Although Donald was already a Registered Nurse, working at the same hospital where he was born, by the time he arrived in the United States in 1964, he experienced several challenges as he sought to obtain his New Jersey nursing license. He persevered taking courses in Obstetrics and Psychiatry at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital and Orange Memorial Hospital where he passed each course advancing him to the next step of taking the State Boards.

Despite his efforts, Donald was unsuccessful in passing the NJ State Boards in 1967, but if you know Donald, you know that this setback would not stop him from achieving his goal. Just as he competed with his younger sister, Irma, to see who could score the highest on their nursing exams, he used this opportunity as a stepping stone to apply for the New York State Boards. However, in order to do so, Donald would need to complete a course in Medical/Surgery at Beth Israel Hospital in New York, NY. He gladly accepted the challenge and passed that course after only 2 months. He was then asked to make a choice: take a Pediatric course or skip it and go straight for the exam. Donald, confident that he would pass, opted for the exam and did exactly that, he passed, resulting in New York accepting the courses he previously took in both states, finally granting him a New York State nursing license. But, that wasn't enough for Donald he wanted to take things a step further and applied for a California nursing license, which he received in 1968.

Now, armed with both a NY and a California state nursing license; Grace, who was an OR Nurse at The New Jersey Trauma Center in Newark, NJ, suggested that Donald apply again for a license to practice nursing in NJ, since he was now licensed in not one, but two states. Normally, that would be more than enough however, this was 1968 and just as Black people endured taking numerous tests simply to register to vote in Jim Crow South, the NJ Board of Nursing rejected both licenses, demanding that Donald still take the State Boards to work as a RN, even though he was already licensed in two states.

Determined to press forward, Donald began working as a Registered Nurse at NYU Medical Center for 6 years in the Urology Unit under the leadership of Drs. Robert Hotckiss, Gordon Brown, Arthur Tessler, and Dr. Morales. He learned tremendously from this team, however, due to a family emergency, he stepped away from the hospital and worked as a private duty nurse until 1975. It was then he applied to work at the VA Medical Center in East Orange, NJ so that he could be closer to his home, wife, and children.

The VA hired Donald as a RN, charging him to care for the Veterans, "who fought to make it possible to enjoy the freedoms we have today." As Donald regularly walked to work, he took great pride in serving his adopted country this way, and worked at the VA for 28 long years before retiring with an entire year of vacation time on July 31, 2003.

After retiring, Donald enjoyed his favorite past times like strategizing what numbers were going to run that night in the lottery, playing dominos, and watching his favorite TV shows and cricket matches. Unfortunately, his health began to decline and he developed Peripheral Artery Disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure resulting in the loss of both legs by 2017. He never fully recovered from that loss.

On June 14, 2023, his bride of 58 years, went home to be with the Lord but this time, instead of Donald waiting to reunite with his bride in America, Grace was waiting for him to join her in Heaven. Let's take great comfort in knowing they are together again with the Lord.

Those left to cherish fond memories include children, Derek Fenty Dey-El (Crystal) of NJ, Jody Yearwood (Richard) of NC, McLean Fenty (Kiana) of VA, Lawrence Haynes (nephew reared in the home) of NJ; five grandchildren, Jala Fenty, Lais Fenty, Yaw Fenty Holman, Lerrah Fenty, and Richard Yearwood IV; siblings, Arthur Fenty (Enid - predeceased), Irma Haynes (Jerry - predeceased), Beryl Singh (Hardeo - predeceased), Colin Fenty (Desiree), Desmond Fenty (Shirley), Audrey McCurchin, Regina Conway (Lionel), Gordon Fenty (Margaret); and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Visitation on Friday, January 17, 2025 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.   A Celebration of Life will take place at 11:00 a.m.

Burial will follow at Hollywood Memorial Park, Union.