Friends of late St. Albans man start GoFundMe
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Coworkers and friends
of a beloved St. Albans man
who passed away in July are
requesting monetary donations
to arrange for a proper
funeral and memorial service
in remembrance of the resident
who always greeted everyone
with a smile.
Edward Nesbitt (“Eddie”), 68,
was found unresponsive in his
St. Albans home on the morning
of July 24, when his advocates
and coworkers — Aura Moody
and Ethel Williams — called 911
having not heard from Nesbitt
when they visited his home for
a wellness check-up.
“We have a good faith and belief
that Mr. Nesbitt was a victim
of bureaucracy. We would like to
dignify him with a decent funeral
so his soul can rest in peace.
Eddie was an amazing, friendly,
hard-working, funny and polite
gentleman. He was loved by all,”
according to the GoFundMe
page created Sept. 10 to pay for
the cost of the funeral.
Nesbitt, who grew up in a
foster home and didn’t know his
biological family, had cognitive
and medical disabilities — he
couldn’t read or write. Unable to
represent/advocate for services
and entitlements for himself,
Nesbitt signed authorizationconsent
letters giving Moody,
Williams, and Marion Fitzgerald
permission to advocate on
his behalf with respect to his
retirement and pension benefits
and other services he needed,
without expecting any retribution,
they said.
After working for the DOE/
Office of School Food Services
for 41 years, Nesbitt was terminated
from his job in 2013 at I.S.
238Q after missing several days
of work when he became sick, not
knowing the right steps to take to
notify the DOE. Upon his termination,
Nesbitt was not provided
with any information about his
benefits. He had lost his health
insurance and income, among
other things.
“He basically only knew how
to write his name and couldn’t
read when he received letters
from the DOE about his pension
and reapplying for the
benefits plan,” Williams said.
“Ms. Moody was trying to get
him a place to stay and looking
Edward Nesbitt Photo via GoFundMe
into options. It was very difficult.
She reached out to anyone
she thought could help him. He
should’ve had someone helping
him all along, but no one
was there.”
Aware of Nesbitt’s situation,
his advocates reached out to
numerous governmental, nonprofit/
pro-bono advocacy agencies
and politicians to advocate
on his behalf, but most of their
requests fell on deaf ears.
“Upon Eddie’s demise, we
have attempted to locate any
living relative, hoping someone
would come forward before his
corpse is released from the City
Morgue and funeral arrangements
can be made, but to no
success,” Moody said.
Moody, Williams and Fitzgerald
are hoping they reach their
goal of $20,000 for the funeral;
so far, they have raised a total
of $2,055 and would like to bury
Nesbitt as soon as possible.
“He was happy. He was
a good loving guy and a lot
people knew him,” Williams
said. “I was very much emotionally
distraught when he
passed away — I wasn’t expecting
it at all. He will definitely
be missed.”
The women have expressed
their heartfelt gratitude to all of
the donors who have pitched in
to assist with funeral arrangements
expenses.
“Eddie cannot be cremated
in the absence of a next-of-kin.
He loved life, and he touched
many lives! He was resilient,
courageous, gregarious and fun
to be around,” Moody said. “He
always had a smile on his face
despite his challenges. He tried
to overcome adversity with the
support of his advocates and
friends who took him under
their wings.”
Those interested in making
a donation can contact: Eddieness2019@
gmail.com. All donations
will go directly to the
funeral home.
Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed
by email at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by phone
at (718) 260–4526.
TAKE ON EVERYTHING
NEW YORK CITY
HAS TO OFFER TODAY
Learn how at aarp.org/nyc
Today is yours for the taking. And AARP is here in our community,
helping you make the most of it. Whether you’re a family caregiver
looking for some support or have ideas to help improve your
neighborhood, we’re here to connect you to the tools you need.
So go make today and every day the best it can be, New York City.
TIMESLEDGER,20 SEPT. 20-26, 2019 QNS.COM
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