Obituary To Olga Azan

Our dear Mother, Olga Teresa Azan, was called home to be with the Lord on February 2, 2021.  She was born on January 1, 1926, in Kingston, Jamaica, to Hilda and Najeeb Azan.  She was married at a fairly young age to Naseef Azan, the love of her life, and they enjoyed 52 years of marriage until his death in 1992.  Together they began their marriage in Frankfield, Jamaica, and later moved to Christiana where they purchased their family home fondly known as "Olgaville". Over the years in Christiana, Olga worked side-by-side with her husband in their flourishing business which expanded to include the "Bevo Theatre".  In 1943, they began their family which ultimately produced 11 children: Gloria, Brenda (dec.), Kenneth, Abraham, Loraine (dec.), Thelma, Beverly, Richard, Charles, Nohaud & Raymond.  

Our mother was well-known for being a fantastic cook.  She was skilled at cooking many different dishes, especially Lebanese food.  It was customary that every Sunday in Christiana, their home was open to family and friends who gladly came to enjoy a table full of delicious dishes created by our Mother.  Over the years, our mother's cooking only became better and on many occasions she would be approached and asked to share some of her cooking "secrets" and she was always willing to oblige!  Olga was an avid reader, who loved her romance novels. Additionally, one of Olga's other loves was gardening.  She had a "green thumb" and enjoyed having flower beds with beautiful roses, gladiolas, dahlias, just to name a few.  She was successful at handling more delicate types, such as African Violets.  In her later years, Olga fell in love with orchids and had a greenhouse to be desired by all.

In the 1980's, Olga and Naseef relocated to Florida where Brenda joined them and shared their home until his death in 1992.  Even after our father's death, her Florida home continued the tradition of being a gathering place for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  There was never an occasion that you would pop in to see our mother and you weren't offered an array of food and baked treats.  Affectionately known as "Mama" or "Grandma", our mother was beyond an ordinary mother.  She was gifted in having a strong maternal instinct, where she loved babies so much that she made it a point to be with her daughters and daughters-in-law in the days after having their babies to assist them and care for her newborn grandchildren. As the years passed, our Mother made every effort to attend any event to celebrate her family and whilst her health allowed, she continued to travel to the Midwest and to Jamaica at least once a year so that she could continue to foster our strong family bond.  In 2014, Olga went to live with her youngest son Raymond and in 2015, Olga's activities became significantly restricted due to subsequent strokes, however, she accepted her situation gracefully and bore the burden without complaints.

Our Mother loved the Lord and attended mass on a regular basis as her health allowed.  She was known to have an angelic voice, which brought our family so much joy as she loved to sing throughout her home.  To the very end of her life, she remained a faithful Catholic and would tell her family that she prayed daily for "everybody".  Our angel of "Olgaville" is now in Heaven and has rejoined Naseef, Loraine, and Brenda.  She is survived by 9 children, 27 grandchildren, and 32 great grandchildren, with one on the way.  Her family will rise up and called her Blessed!

Editor's Note: The Azan family is well known in Jamaica and I attended Knox College with those members of the family who lived in Manchester. The Bevo Cinema which Olga and Naseef owned, was the main entertainment spot for areas surrounding Christian, Spalding and also parts of Southern Trelawny.