Amelia Denese (Grair) Jenkins

Amelia D. Jenkins, age 82, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2020. She was born July 1, 1937 in Cleveland, Ohio to the late Archie and Goldie Grair. Siblings that preceded her in death; Eugenia (Lyman) Brazier, Esther Bradford, Lester (Vera) Bradford, Rosa Lee (James) Thompson William Bessick, and one surviving sister Eleanor (Lovell) Conner. She attended schools in the Cuyahoga county area and graduated from John Adams High School in January 1957. In the same year, she married her high school boyfriend, Bobby N. Nichols. They had three children, Donice “Mikki”, Bobby II, and Dwight “Cisco”. Amelia accepted Christ at an early age and joined Olivet Institutional Baptist Church. For over fifty years there, she serviced on varies ministries; Keepers of Faith, Hope & Heritage, Women’s Choir, Missionary Society (Hanna Circle), July Birth Month Ministry, Chaired the OIBC Women’s Day, Cleveland Interface Choir (lead by Barbara Collier), John Adams Choir, Women’s Choir and Voices. It was later, that Amelia met, fell in love and married Isiah “Ike” Jenkins. Amelia’s career started at Bobbie Brooks where later she moved on to a secretarial position with Blue Cross and Blue Shield. It was there that Amelia attended at Cleveland State University and received her undergraduate degree in 1975 in Marketing. She later became the first African American woman to hold a sales position at Blue Cross & Blue Shield. Amelia worked for various companies throughout her career, such as, Delta Dental Plan of Ohio, Personal Physician Care of Ohio, Renaissance Health Plan, Automated Health Systems, Inc, and Northeast Ohio Neighborhood until her retirement in September 2019 at the age of 82. Her love of helping others lead her to join the following non-profit organizations that focus on assisting adults, children and the community in the Greater Cleveland area: Top Ladies of Distinction Inc., Sickle Cell Anemia, Eliza Bryant Auxiliary II, Hospice of Western Reserve, National Council Negro Women, National Coalition of 100 Black Women, John Adams Alumni Society, and the Alzheimer's Association Cleveland Area Chapter. Jzy Nany, as proclaimed on her license plate, enjoyed traveling the world with her friends and family. She traveled Italy, the Caribbean’s, Hawaii, and Canada. It was sometimes hard to keep up with her as she was always on the go! In her younger days she modeled and was known for her cooking; everyone loved her spaghetti and macaroni and cheese. To her, the most valuable treasures in her life were her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Amelia is survived by her sister Eleanor (Lovell) Connor; her three children; Donice (Robert) Bell of Aurora, OH; Bobby II (Pamela) Nichols of Cleveland, OH; and Dwight Nichols of Sacramento, CA. Honorary children; Eric Nichols, Deric Nichols and Steven Scott (Carolyn) Nichols. Grandchildren; Robert Jr (Amelia) Bell, Taylor Bell, Courtney (Joshua) James, Genevieve (James) Marbuary, Devon (Willie) Gamble, Charita Nichols, Maegan Nichols, Ashley Nichols, Portia Nichols, Tyron Nichols, Tayonna Nichols, great-grandchildren, host of nieces, nephews, cousins and loving friends.

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