Family members, friends, supporters, and former netballers on Saturday night, Sept. 26, feted Gloria Lewis, the Vincentian-born founding member of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean-American Netball Association (CANA), as she celebrated her 90th birthday.
During the gala, at Paint Your Blessing, on Liberty Avenue in Brooklyn, patrons paid adoring tributes to Lewis, a former St. Vincent and the Grenadines national netball star, who also served as CANA’s treasurer.
“What can I say about my mom that has not been said?” said Lewis’s youngest daughter, Adonna Lewis-Dudley, a Brooklyn resident. “I am so blessed to have her in my life. Being the disciplinarian she was was not something you appreciated as a child. But, as you get older, you do, as she was the source of discipline, where you send the grandchildren when they got out of line.
“Still, in all, there was no shortage of love for every one of them, and support for all of us,” added Lewis-Dudley, stating that she was “the only offspring who followed” in her mother’s footsteps in playing netball.
“I did not have the opportunity to represent my country, which she did at the tender age of 16, but enjoyed the traveling and being part of what she started, especially here in the United States,” she continued. “I will forever be grateful for the values she instilled in me and the love of sports.”
Dujon Jackson said that while he “did not always see eye-to-eye” with his grandmother, as he grew older, “I have come to recognize the immense strength and compassion that my grandmother possesses.
“She has been a constant and reliable anchor in our family through almost three generations,” he said. “She has been a source of support for all of us, and represents discipline, hard work, and the way love is sometimes best shown through action, and by simply being present.
“Her life has been a blessing to everyone it has touched, and we are incredibly fortunate to celebrate 90 years of her life with her,” Jackson added.
Arlene Cosby, Lewis’s niece, trekked from Florida to participate in her aunt’s special celebration.
“Aunty Gloria has always been a passionate, caring, and loving soul — someone who would leave herself undone just to help others,” Cosby said. “She has a rare and special gift — the ability to turn strangers into friends, simply by offering a warm smile, a listening ear, and a generous heart.
“To many, she has been a rock — steady, strong and dependable,” she added. “To her family, she’s been a guiding light — a beacon of love, wisdom, and grace.
“Our presence here today is a true testament to the countless lives she has touched,” Cosby continued. “Each of us carries a part of her — her kindness, strength, and love.”
Jamaican Sonia Crichton, who played for the Roots Netball Team in the CANA championships in Brooklyn, said, “Lewis has always been an inspiration.
“Everyone looked up to her,” she said. “She could often be caught teaching the youth how to defend the ball.
“We thank you for your kindness, inspiration, and loving heart,” Crichton told Lewis.
Grenadian Caroline Cox said she started playing for Lewis’s United Sports team as a teen.
“At 90 years old, Ms. Lewis stands as a true icon in the world of netball,” she said. “Her lifelong dedication to netball, as both a coach and a leader, has left a lasting impact on generations of players.
“With unwavering determination, passion, and commitment, Ms. Lewis has inspired countless individuals to excel on the court and grow as teammates, leaders, and community members,” Cox added. “Her influence reaches far beyond the game, embodying the spirit of resilience, mentorship, and love for the sport.
“We honor her legacy and celebrate the incredible journey of someone who continues to lead by example, even at 90,” she continued.
Vincentian Yvonne Peters – who co-founded the Antillians Netball Team in Brooklyn and played with Lewis and her daughter, Adonna, in the Brooklyn-based Hairoun Netball Team – said she has known Mrs. Lewis for all her netball life.
“Growing up around tournaments at the Nutricia Netball Complex and the Arnos Vale Netball Complex (in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) for training and for supporting my favored team, Mrs. Lewis displayed comradery for the love of netball, a mentor, surely a netball ambassador,” she said, disclosing that Lewis started, as early as in the 1950s, in representing St. Vincent and the Grenadines on two tours to Trinidad and Tobago, and one each to St. Lucia and Dominica.
Peters said Lewis played in the Center, Wing Attack, and Goal Attack positions.
“And though she was not the captain, she was looked at for advice and to lead,” she said. “Gloria Lewis was the ‘real Mc Coy’ of netball ambassadors. Her love, dedication, and perseverance for the game qualify her for diplomacy for the sport; this landed her involvement with the Amateur Netball Association. She saw that more was needed; thus, she embarked upon a new beginning of the sport.
“She was one of the founding members of CANA, alongside another Vincentian great, (the late) Gailene Windsor,” Peters added. “CANA was a very successful entity lasting well over 20 years.”
In 2000, Peters said, “Lewis was able to muster up three competitive adult netball teams under the name of United to participate in the summer netball tournament.”
Later, she said Lewis saw the need to inspire the youths in the community “to continue the legacy of the sport.
“She trained and developed competitive youths for their participation in the netball competition and, thus, established the youth division of which she had two very competitive teams,” Peters said. “Wishing you God’s great blessings for your birthday.”
Lewis-Dudley told Caribbean Life that her mom started playing netball at 12, at the Kingstown Roman Catholic School in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for Wee Wiens.
From there, Lewis-Dudley said Lewis played in league tournaments in her native land for Maples and eventually Falcons.
“It was her performance on such teams that earned her a position on the St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Squad, representing her country for several years in the position of Goal Shoot and, on occasions, Wing Attack and Center,” Lewis-Dudley said.
During that time, she said St. Vincent and the Grenadines “earned top positions and, upon return (from overseas tours), was welcomed with a parade in Kingstown (the Vincentian capital).”
In 1994, Lewis-Dudley noted that St. Vincent and the Grenadines National Team was “honored and recognized” at the Arnos Vale Sports Complex.
“Gloria was one of the greats who attended, along with Grace Davy, Sylvia Wilson, and Marlene Arthur,” she said.
After migrating to the United States in 1980, Lewis-Dudley said her mom joined the Hairoun Netball Team one week later, playing, coaching, and serving as the team’s umpire.
In 1993, with the lack of netball growth in Brooklyn and the hope of being more diverse, Lewis-Dudley said she and her mother collaborated in forming the United Sports Club.
“This was one of the first clubs to create a junior team, which eventually led to a junior division being established within the Caribbean American Netball Association,” Lewis-Dudley said.
After struggling for the first few years, she said the United Sports Club blossomed to four teams – “all of which held their own, bringing home championships year after year.”
For years, Lewis-Dudley said Mrs. Lewis was appointed to CANA’s Board of Directors and, after that reign, “remained faithful to the development of netball – coaching, training, teaching, and mentoring the children of netball players who were sitting around waiting for their mothers and any youth she could gather up.
“She went into schools, held clinics, and, with hard work and dedication, developed the youth within the community, holding mini tournaments,” she added.
Lewis-Dudley said her mother took her teams to other states – such as Texas, Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Florida, and New Jersey – to compete in tournaments, “of which they were always successful.
“This was also quite rewarding, because it was the first opportunity for some of the children to travel out of New York,” she said.
In 2004, Lewis-Dudley said Mrs. Lewis was honored by retired Congressman Edolphus “Ed” Towns for her community service. In 2017, the Brooklyn Borough President presented her with a citation for 21 years of service “as founder and leader through athletics.”
Two years later, Lewis-Dudley said her mom was recognized by the Brooklyn-based SVG Diaspora Committee of New York for her contribution to netball.
“Today, even in her senior years, mom could be found on the netball courts with the young ones, ages 8 through 18, coaching, mentoring, and teaching the game of netball.”
Mrs. Lewis told Caribbean Life that she is “very happy to be still involved at this age,” stating that it helps her “to keep fit.”
She also said she was “honored to be acknowledged for this recognition.”
