Olive Elizabeth Duffus

Olive E. Duffus

Olive Elizabeth Duffus was a loving mother and grandmother. She was born to Arnold Patterson and Ella Duffus in Lucky Hill Saint Mary, Jamaica, West Indies. In her early childhood years, she was raised by her maternal grandparents Jane Adella and Thomas William Duffus. Goshen Church and Goshen Primary school were the first church and school she attended in the parish of Saint Mary.  As a teenager she moved to the capital city of Kingston, to live with her Aunt Edith and Uncle Zedekiah Thompson. There, she attended and graduated from Kingston Technical High School. Inspired by her Aunt Edith, who was a nurse, she decided to pursue nursing as a career. She graduated as a registered nurse from the Kingston Public Hospital School of Nursing in Kingston, Jamaica in batch #35 in 1962. Her nursing batch was a group of trailblazers who rebelled against the harsh working conditions of the British colonized Jamaica!

Olive immigrated from her home in Jamaica to New York City in 1963.  She worked for over 40 years as a registered nurse giving the utmost care to her patients! She worked at Cadbury Hospital in New York City and Saint Michael's hospital in Newark, NJ. In 1967 she moved to Washington DC. In 1969, she gave birth to her only child, Amaate, who was her pride and joy! She worked at several hospitals and nursing homes in the Washington Metropolitan area including Howard University Hospital, DC General Hospital, Washington Hospital Center, Children's Hospital, Greater Laurel, Carol Manor, and Fox Chase. Often doing double shifts at hospitals, she worked very hard as a single parent to put her son through private schools. She played a pivotal role in the fundraising efforts with other parents of her son’s start up hockey club at the Fort DuPont skating rink. She was the unofficial nurse for the hockey club!

Although she had several good friends in the DC metro area, the closest family were in New York City.  She and Amaate made frequent trips to New York to spend time with family, especially during the holidays.

Olive had an entrepreneurial spirit and pursed several business ventures. She enjoyed baking and sewing and often made items for family and friends. She also enjoyed traveling. Europe was her favorite destination particularly, Italy.

Olive ended her career as a school nurse with the Prince Georges County Public School System. She was an active member of the churches she joined which included Northeastern Presbyterian Church, Rhema Christian Center, and Bethel World Outreach Ministries.  She also enjoyed singing on the choir and witnessing to others in the community. Olive enjoyed visiting and spending time with family. She was very passionate about her family and lineage!  Her Golden Girls social group consisted of longtime friends who shared celebrations and excursions. In 2004, she retired.  Becoming a grandmother was one of her greatest joys.  She enjoyed spending time with her granddaughters which included attending many school events. She loved teaching them about the Bible and sharing stories about her youth. She is survived by son, Amaate, daughter-in-law, Christine, and granddaughters, Isis and Serena. She is also survived by siblings Sheila, Calvin, Faith, Jacqueline, David, and Roland.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Olive Elizabeth Duffus, please visit our floral store.