Beverly “Rhea” Wilson

: BEVERLY "RHEA" WILSON

Let's be honest - Rhea wasn't your typical woman. And thank God for that.

Beverly Wilson, affectionately known as "Rhea," was a woman who lived in full color - a fierce, unapologetic shade of red. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 5, 1950, to the late Peggy J. Little-Wilson and Jerome E. Wilson Sr., she left this world on April 8, 2026 - just three days after her 76th birthday, because even her exit had flair. She wasn't going to let April pass without making sure we all remembered her.

She attended Rezin Orr High School on the Westside of Chicago.

Rhea's life wasn't a straight line. It wasn't a Hallmark card or a Sunday school lesson - at least not at first. It was more like the blues she loved so much: raw, real, sometimes painful, and if you listened long enough, absolutely beautiful. She walked roads that were hard, made choices that were complicated, and carried weight that would have broken most people. But Rhea? Rhea was fierce. And fierce women don't break easily. They say that a person's life is not measured by how they start, but by the grace they find along the way. Even in the midst of all she endured, love still found a way to live in her. That may be one of the greatest miracles of her life

For 33 years as a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA), Rhea poured into others the care and nurturing she didn't always receive herself. She found immense joy in life's everyday pleasures. She was the life of the party when the R&B or the blues came on - she danced because her body knew joy even when life was complicated. Whether she was doing hair, styling wigs, or dressing to the nines, she took pride in the details - even making sure her grandson Brandon's nails stayed shining as bright as her own perfectly kept nails.

In the early 1970s, she was united in marriage to Robert Starks, and from that union she built what would become her greatest legacy

- not a perfect

family, but a real one. She later shared over 20 years of love and companionship with her significant other, Charles Howell, the father of her stepdaughter, Nikisha Howell-Moore.

She was the devoted mother to April Momon-Murphy (Andre), Rayvon Starks, Preshaun Starks, Shavon Starks, and Nikisha Howell-Moore (stepdaughter). She also shared a special bond with her goddaughter, Karen Adams. She is now reunited with her beloved daughter, Nicole Starks, who preceded her in death.

One of her most cherished traditions was the "first of the month" celebrations. She would gather her family to go out to cat, creating joyful memories simply by being together. That was Rhea

- selfless, giving, and happiest when surrounded by her people. Whether it was a cozy night at home renting VCR tapes and DVDs or a lively family dinner, she used those moments to say what words sometimes couldn't: I see you, and I love you.

The most powerful chapter of her life, however, wasn't written in her career or her hobbies. It was written in the quiet, redemptive years she spent living with her oldest daughter, April. She wasn't the mom you'd find in a Pinterest post. The road of motherhood for Rhea was broken in places, detoured in others. Life's twists and turns took years from her that she couldn't get back, and her children felt that absence in ways that don't just disappear. But here's what's remarkable - and what makes her story sacred: her oldest daughter April opened her home and her heart for 15+ years. That doesn't happen by accident. That happens through the hard, godly, gut-wrenching work of forgiveness.

It was in April's home, under the care of her family, that Rhea's story reached its beautiful con-clusion. It proved that while we cannot change the beginning of our stories, we can always choose how we end them.

Rhea found the Lord wholeheartedly later in life - not just for herself, but she asked for forgiveness for everyone connected to her. Read that again. This woman, at the end of her life, wasn't just making her own peace. She was interceding for the people she loved. She was covering her children, her grandchildren, and her family in prayer - asking God to extend to them the same grace she had finally, gratefully received

That's not a small thing. That's a woman who understood, in her bones, what love is actually supposed to do.

Rhea was a cherished sister to Belinda Wilson. Jerome Wilson Jr., and Anthony Wilson. She is now reunited with her siblings Melvin Little, Matilda Ashley-Porter, Rosalind Wilson, and Jerrona Wilson-Ellis, all of whom preceded her in death.

She leaves behind a legacy that is real, textured, and unforgettable - a legacy of laughter, love. toughness, tenderness, and the holy possibility of redemption. She will be remembered not because her life was perfect, but because it was human — because she loved, because she was loved, and because through all of it, God was still writing her story. Her life is a reminder that God's love has no prerequisites - that He doesn't wait for us to get it together before He shows up. And if that's how He loves us - messy, complicated, still figuring it out - then that is exactly how He intends us to love one another.

This legacy will live on through her eight grandchildren: Brandon K. Momon, Jamal Gill.

Jenique Gill, Devonte Starks, Ray Ray Starks, Jalen Starks, Bryce L. Williams, and Abbey Starks; her great-grandchild, Zayvon Starks; and a host of nieces and nephews.

Rhea was fierce, she was resilient, and she was deeply loved. She leaves us with a reminder that no one is beyond the reach of grace. No heart is too broken to be mended by faith. No wound is too deep for healing. No relationship is too far gone for forgiveness. Rhea's life remains a masterclass in the truth that our history does not have to be our destiny.

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