Rosa Fowlkes-7-18-2025

Celebrating the life of Rosa Evelyn (Peace) Fowlkes. Rosa departed this life on July 11, 2025, at 1:32 am at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, located in Neptune, NJ.

Rosa was born in Blackstone, Virginia, on April 26, 1941, to the late Elder William Lovelace and Sister Rosa Lena (Ellis) Peace. Rosa was the 3^rd child born to Elder William & Sister Rosa Peace’s family of seven children. Her nickname, given to her by her father, was “Little Bit” and her mom and siblings called her “sista.” Rosa was named after her mother.

She attended elementary school at the Nottoway Training School in Blackstone. Her middle & high school attendance was at Luther H. Foster High School in Nottoway County, VA, as did all the other Afro-Americans did, for school integration had not occurred.  She had two very close friends throughout her entire schooling experience. These two friends lived in the neighborhood and grew up with her; attended the same schools, classes and participated in the same after-school programs. Their names were Gloria Jean (Collier) Thomas and Inez Robinson.  Rosa was a cheerleader for the last four years of high school.  This allowed her to cheer for the love of her life, in many football games, for her boyfriend and high school sweetheart was Lawrence Howard Fowlkes. He was a member of the high school football team.  Lawrence and Rosa were later married in her parents’ living room in 1965.

By this time Lawrence only had about 6 months to complete college and immediately went to join Rosa in Brooklyn, NY.  Rosa had an apartment on Park Place in Brooklyn, where she worked for the Department of Social Services for over 25 years.  Rosa had two children while living in NY, Troy was the first, and Lawren was her second. In 1976, just before her third baby was born, they moved to Conover St. in Freehold, NJ. That baby’s name was Dwayne.

Rosa and the children attended the Freehold Church of Christ on Throckmorton Street for years.  After all three children graduated and left home, Rosa started attending the Bible Way Church of Christ in Neptune, NJ.  She quickly made friends there, formed a praise team, put together Women’s Retreats, orchestrated prayer breakfasts and planned biblical trips to the Sight N’ Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA. She was a Missionary who kept her hands busy for the Lord.  She was a seamstress, and crocheting was her hobby.  She made “dollies,” blankets, dresses, and choir robes, and also taught the teenagers and moms in the church her craft.  Bishop Commodore quickly made her a church mother.

Mother Fowlkes was also a beautiful soloist.  She was a dedicated worker for the Lord.  When she started to become lonely, she wanted to be near her older sister, Shirley.  She then relocated to Columbia, SC.  She joined the Bible Way Church in SC, under Bishop Lorick, and continued to function as a church mother until her health started to fail.

Her boys moved her to Imperial Care Facility with the hopes of eventually going into a Senior Living Complex.  However, this never happened because her physical health and mental abilities continued to decline and resulting in continuous episodes of hospitalization.

She leaves to mourn her three children Troy, Lawren (Florida) and Dwayne Fowlkes; two daughter-in-laws Rebecca and Sandra; three granddaughters Jasmine, Sierra (Florida) and Kera; one grandson Xavier; one great granddaughter Joy Elizabeth; one sister Bessie Peace Jones of Plainfield, NJ; one sister-in-law Rolanda Peace (Georgia); nine nieces; ten nephews; a few friends and associates, and her church families in Freehold, Neptune and South Carolina.