Athela Yap, age 89, of Boaz, Alabama passed away on Friday, August 1, 2025.
A visitation will be held at Morgan Funeral Chapel on Saturday August 9th, 2025, from 1:00PM to 2:00PM. A chapel service will follow at 2:00PM.
A graveside service will be at Hillcrest Cemetery.
Athela Verna Yap (also known affectionately as Thelo), was born on February 23, 1936, in Belize City to parents, Morris Ebanks and Ida Longsworth. She was the youngest of three children and shared a very tight bond with her sister, Babs Chensue, and her brother, Morris Ebanks. Verna lived in the Cayman Islands as a child and late in her teens, went to live in Havana, Cuba, with her father and stepmother, Alora “Lolo” Ebanks. It is there that she learned and mastered her second language, Spanish. When the Castro regime took office, Verna and her family relocated to Miami, Florida.
Verna was selfless and had an enormous heart. She fiercely loved and cared for her family and friends without hesitation, and unconditionally. Family and friends from Belize and the Cayman Islands would often stay with Verna, and there was nothing she loved more than to cater to them, including driving them around Miami. When great-nieces and great-nephews needed a home, she made it known that her door was always open and she would always have a bed available. Verna organized Easter Egg Hunts, Christmas gatherings, and birthday parties, just to name a few. If there was a holiday or occasion to celebrate, her house was the place to be!
Later in life, one of her greatest accomplishments was opening her first childcare center in Homestead, Florida. It is there that she was able to fuse her love for children and early childhood education. What made this feat so astonishing is that she found this path at an age when many are thinking about retirement. She took the required classes and became certified to own and operate a childcare center and successfully completed additional training to ensure she remained one of the most qualified and highly trained in the area. But what set her apart from other centers was her wit, her naturally caring nature, and her Caribbean background that fostered a common-sense environment with genuine love and concern. Her roots in the community ran deep, and the business flourished under her co-management. With aspirations of being the sole proprietor of her own childcare, she decided to walk away from that center and open Tech Tots in Palmetto Bay, Florida. Verna served as director for several years until she retired to care for her ailing husband and love of her life, Captain Hiram Yap.
The second greatest accomplishment was being a mother and grandmother. She was so immensely proud of her daughter Rosa, and the life she built in Alabama. Every grandbaby had their own photo album, and she gushed at the opportunity to talk about how smart and adorable her grandchildren are. She cherished living in the same home and giving love to those grandbabies every single day.
Verna was many things to many people. To some she was godmother, to most she was aunt, to everyone she was pure and special. Athela Verna Yap was one in a million. She will be forever missed but never forgotten.
Athela is preceded in death by Husband, Captain Hiram Yap; sister, Barbara “Babs” Chensue; and brother, Morris Ebanks.
Athela is survived by Daughter, Rosa Jacinto; Son-in-Law, Gaspar Jacinto; and grandchildren Charlie Samayoa, Maya Athela Hernandez, and Dominic Miguel Hiram Jacinto.
Pallbearers will be Charlie Samayoa, Gaspar Jacinto, Morgan Collins, Antonio Vasquez, Juan Jacinto, and David Jacinto.
Honorary pallbearers are Victor Cabral, Lennox Peters, Sidney Ebanks, and Conroy Ebanks.
Special thanks are given to Maryse Ebanks, Sonia Ebanks, Sidney Ebanks, Gaspar Jacinto, Shepherd’s Cove Hospice, Antonia Peralta, and Antonio Vasquez. Thank you for all of the support and love.
