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Obituary for Unis U. Francis
Remembering theÂ
Life & Legacy
of Our Beloved Mother
Unis U. Francis Â
Saturday, December 5, 2015
at Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church
5620 Wyalusing Avenue
Philadelphia, PA Â 19131
Viewing: Â 9:00 a.m. - Â Service: Â 10:00 a.m.Â
Interment will conclude at Fernwood Cemetery
Life Story
Unis Uthedra Francis (Barnes) was born on May 3, 1933 in the city of Watermount, which resides in the Parish of St Catharine on the beautiful island of Jamaica. She was the third child (of five children) born to Altimont George and Emeriah Whyte. The Whyte’s instilled in Unis the values that would guide her life and her faith in God. Unis’s life exemplified the rewards of hard work, the importance of education, service to the community, and the love of family.  After completing her school work at the Happy Grove School in Hectors River, Jamaica, Unis aspired to higher levels of opportunity and subsequently followed the path of earlier siblings and moved to Birmingham, England. There, she worked as a Nurses Aid but found other opportunity in her marriage to Lindford Dacosta Barnes in 1958. Born to them were two children, Hope and Elaine. In 1960, seeking further opportunity for their young family; Unis and Lindford moved from the UK to The United states in 1960 where they ultimately settled in Philadelphia. After several years raising their family in the US, their first and only son Courtney was born in 1966.  Now divorced and on her own in a relatively strange new world, Unis continued to work as a Nurses Aid at several health care organizations in the Philadelphia area including Misericordia, West Park, and The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine(PCOM) where she subsequently worked for nearly 20 years.  As education was always important to Unis, she embarked upon a new journey at the age of 50. That journey was to earn a college degree. Thus, Unis earned her GED in 1982, and subsequently graduated from The Community College of Philadelphia in 1985. Ultimately, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Temple University in 1990. With her new degree in hand, she changed the course of her career and began serving the community by working at various social service agencies including the The Dr. Warren E. Smith center. Never satisfied with her level of educational achievement, Unis was now determined to earn a Master’s Degree in Social Work. Thus, after several years advocating for the needs of seniors and at risk youth in the Philadelphia area; Unis was accepted at Rosemont College. Now in her sixties, she was intent to fulfill her dream of earning an advanced degree. Unfortunately, her dream of earning that Masters Degree was not to be as her illness began to slowly rob her of her capacity and ultimately her life.   On Saturday, November 14, 2015, Unis accepted God’s calling and was welcomed into his kingdom. She leaves to cherish her memory, her three children, Courtney (Madonna) Barnes, Elaine (Riley) Hansom, and Dr. Hope Watts, her remaining siblings, Mr. Larkland McCloud (Pauline) Whyte and Mrs. Cyriline Reid, her grandchildren Jaidah and Tyrell Barnes, Brandon Shepherd and Felicia (Dante) Shepherd-Dicks, and her beloved niece Pamela (Kenneth) Shepherd. Unis will also be remembered by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews that currently reside in the US, the UK, and on the great island of Jamaica.
