Theresa Renee Stokes was born March 3, 1971 to Maria C. Stokes and Melvin H. Brown. She

was raised in the home of her grandparents, Mr. Kenneth S. Stokes and his wife Miriam Stokes

with Maria and her two siblings Kenneth and Cheryl in Chesilhurst NJ. After Maria’s marriage to

Mr. Curtis J. Collins, Theresa moved with them to Phoenix, Arizona for a short time then back to

NJ. After the death of Mr. Collins her mother married Terry J. Smith and Theresa was then

raised in Lindenwold NJ where she attended Lindenwold #5 School and later after moving to

Sicklerville NJ attended and graduated from Edgewood Regional High School.

Theresa received a scholarship to attend Xaviar University in New Orleans, LA then transferred

to Rutgers University in Camden NJ where she graduated in 1994 with her Bachelor of Arts

degree in Psychology.

Theresa began her career in Social Work at the Philadelphia Department of Human Services.

She worked there for 6 years until complications with pregnancy caused her to leave and return

later to work part time closer to home in New Jersey.

Theresa had a gentle patient manner and excelled in the positions she took working with

children. In addition to the City of Philadelphia she worked as a Substitute teacher for the

Waterford and Winslow Township Boards of Education and in the Lindenwold School District as

an assistant aid for special needs children. She also had positions at Rowan Day Care and

Crystal Lake Elder Care. In addition, Theresa worked in the offices at the Chesilhurst Borough

Hall which was close to the Stokes’ family home where she spent her formative years.

Theresa loved to read. She spent many Saturday afternoons as a child choosing the books she

would eventually take home from the library to read that would not go over the limit. She also

enjoyed her teen years in the Girl Scouts and summers traveling on vacation. She was active in

her church as a youth attending Grant AME Church. She assisted in the Sunday School under

the direction of Superintendent Laverne Rose teaching and organizing arts and craft activities

with the younger children. Although Theresa had not rejoined or found a specific church home

as an adult she continued to keep in touch with what lessons Grant’s Church School were

working on and kept up with the adult church school lessons from the Quarterly AME literature.

After the birth of her daughter Chloe, Theresa spent much of her time traveling with her to

specialists, when she was not working, to keep up with Chloe’s challenges as a special needs

child. Chloe was later diagnosed with cancer and even after successful treatment Chloe passed

away at the age of 13 which affected Theresa deeply.

Theresa was preceded in death by her father Melvin H. Brown, and her daughter Chloe

Yasmina Stokes-Austin. She leaves to cherish her memories, her mother Maria C. Littles, her

sisters Miriam Smith, Tamara Brown, Lexy Kee Brown, and her loving friend Papino Conception

along with her aunt Cheryl Chambers and uncles, Kenneth M. Stokes and Roger Brown and a

host of cousins’ family and friends.