Obituary of Patricia Antoinette Lamb

Patricia Antoinette (Toni) Lamb, 81, A great source of love, strength, and joy for her family and friends. 

Toni Lamb, an educator with 46 years of service to East Orange, NJ, and New York City school systems, passed away peacefully on November 16, 2023, surrounded by her family. She was a wonderful person, full of optimism, who lived her life with a “can do, never give up” attitude right up to the end. Toni was energetic, vivacious, curious, friendly, and helpful. She was kind, generous, and very passionate about developing the talent of youth. This included the students who benefited from her leadership as well as her cousins, nieces, and nephews, who idolized their Auntie Toni.

A proud lifelong resident of Bedford Stuyvesant, Toni was the oldest surviving daughter of Warren and Marion Parsons. Upon graduating from Holy Rosary Elementary School and George W. Wingate High School, she attended Brooklyn College, where she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and graduated with a degree in Art in 1964. Toni began her lifelong commitment to education as a teacher in Brownsville, NY., obtained a Master's Degree in counseling from NYU in 1972 and worked in various capacities for the NY Board of Education until she accepted the position of Director of Curriculum for the East Orange Board of Education in 1981. For the next twenty-nine years, Toni worked in many positions in East Orange, including Director of Instructional Services, Secondary Education, and Special Projects, until her retirement as Director of Human Resources in 2010.

Toni was a hard-working educator focused on securing the best methods for teachers to provide engaging learning experiences for their students. She enhanced her desire to develop students by serving as an officer for the Brooklyn Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. and the Brooklyn Chapter of the Links, Inc., two organizations with outstanding reputations for supporting youth.

Toni’s love of children helped earn her the title of the “Best Aunt In The World” from her nieces and nephews. She lavished them with love and affection and was always available to play with them, offer support with a project, read a story, share advice, play with blocks, or just listen to their observations, dreams, or concerns.

She loved the Arts and was a gifted painter and photographer. Her paintings or photos were treasured gifts for many of her family and friends. She was known to always have a camera in hand. She often found ideas or subjects for her work from vacations in Martha’s Vineyard, where she loved sand and sea, nature, and the bustle of family interactions.

Her family was important to Toni. The bond between her and her sisters, Carol Penelope (Penny) Parsons and Yolande Sequoia( Lannie) Parsons was unbreakable. Lannie died in 1986, and Toni and Penny provided the love, support, and nurturing required to raise Lannie’s children. Because of this responsibility, Toni spent as much time in NJ, where the children were raised, as in NY, never missing a play, a game, a family dinner, or a graduation. She was a source of unending love for her family, always giving and never asking for anything in return. She was truly remarkable and will be missed.

Toni was predeceased by her parents, Warren and Marion Parsons, and her sisters, Bonavita and Yolande (Lannie) Sequoia Scott. She is survived by her sister Carol Penelope (Penny) Bolden (Frank Bolden); nieces,  Kyla Pilgrim (Barry Pilgrim), Sequoia Pilgrim, Naima Pilgrim, Amara Pilgrim, Sydney Bolden, Britney Bolden, Sara Bolden, and Aniya Scott; nephews, Brian Bolden (Tasha Bolden), Ian Bolden (Courtnie Bolden), Kendall Bolden, Kyle Bolden, and Mason Bolden; cousins, Jean Smith, Adrienne Smith, Lisa Smith, Frances Jacqueline Horne, Kevin Horne(Tanya), Jeffrey Horne, Joan Neal, Lynne Jefferson, Mickey Banks, and Jordan Banks; a special friend, Thomas W. Singleton, and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 25, at Concord Baptist Church in Brooklyn, NY, with burial following at Evergreen Cemetery. Donations in her memory may be sent to The Brooklyn Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.at brooklynalumnaedst.org, or to The Brooklyn Chapter of The Links, Inc.