Beatrice Juanita Bannerman

Mother Beatrice Juanita Bannerman was born October 24,1940 in Walstonburg, North Carolina to Javis and Lillian Artis. She was the third of four children. She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother Larry Donnell Artis.

Mother Bannerman was blessed to be reared under the godly influence of her grandmother that caused her to be introduced to Christ at an early age. She matriculated through the public school system in Wilson, NC. Upon graduation in 1958, she moved to Trenton, New Jersey to reunite with her mother. She was followed there by her high school sweetheart, James Howard, and shortly thereafter, the young couple, affectionately known as Bo and Boot, were married. This union lasted for 65 years, until her death.

After receiving Christ and entering ministry, Superintendent and Mother Bannerman were called to Cleveland, OH in 1966. Mother Bannerman worked as a kindergarten assistant during her early years in Cleveland, but eventually decided that it was more important to be at home to raise her children. The Bannerman family was blessed to have a wife and mother who was not a housewife, but a homemaker. She kept an immaculate home and gathered them together for home cooked, full course meals at the dinner table every day. She filled her home with love and prayer because her love for Christ and family were at the center of all that she did. Her grandchildren often joked about waking up to a “greasy forehead” as Mother Bannerman kept them covered in prayer.

Touching heaven was Mother Bannerman’s foremost calling—from noonday prayer years ago, where she and her son in the gospel, Deacon Herman Jones, put all her babies in their carseats and loaded them on the church van to go over to the church, to the prayer conference call line of her later years that she facilitated Monday-Friday. Although her health rarely allowed her to facilitate over the last few months, her legacy continues as the Mothers in Zion continue to gather for prayer on the line every day.

In addition to being a prayer warrior, Mother Bannerman was also an anointed teacher, teaching both Sunday School and Bible Band and serving as an instructor for aspiring and ordained missionaries in the Church of God in Christ. She also served as the District Missionary for the Ravenna District and on the executive board for the Women’s Department of the Ohio North First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.

Children were Mother Bannerman’s love, her passion, and many were blessed to be raised in her home. Her family once attempted to count the number of children she has cared for over the years, and the number reached over 100. Affectionately known as Missy Bea, she cared for her babies—and they were all her babies—with the skill and expertise of a certified daycare, and the love that only a mother can give.

Just a few days ago, with a repentant heart, Mother Bannerman was heard asking the Lord to forgive her of anything that would prevent her from meeting Him in peace, and she told Him she was tired. Our loving, caring Father loved His daughter too much to allow her to continue to suffer on this side, so the next morning, on Saturday, March 2, 2024, He called her home to the welcome address, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.”

Mother Beatrice Juanita Bannerman leaves to mourn her passing and cherish her memory, her devoted husband Superintendent James H. Bannerman; her children Nicaleo (Barbara) Bannerman of Charlotte,NC; Jamie Bannerman of North Hollywood, CA; Direnda Nolan of Virginia Beach, VA; Donya (William) Jackson of Charlotte, NC; Sean Bannerman Sr. of Garfield Heights, OH; Jelena Bannerman of Twinsburg, OH; Nyree (Jermel Sr.) Wilkerson of Twinsburg, OH; her sisters Carolyn Jean Purdie and Fannie Barnes of Wilson, NC; her brother-in-law Andre Smith of Cleveland, OH; her sister-in-law Gail Murrain of Cary, NC; 13 grandchildren; 14 great children; and a host of nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews, bonus grandchildren and great grandchildren, church family, and friends, too numerous to name.