Myra Ann Tolbert Obituary (1949 - 2020)

Myra Ann Tolbert (Myrahbinghi Tafari Afrika), born October 18, 1949, was proceeded in death by her son Keith Levelle Tolbert, her brother Robert Clinton Tolbert, Jr., and her parents Bernice Dezell Smith and Robert Clinton Tolbert. A daughter of the Great Migration, Myra was raised on the South Side of Chicago and heeded the call of her generation to go west, landing in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury in the early 1970s. There she began a career in social services, first as a social worker in the San Francisco Sheriff's Department of Corrections, then later, working for the social justice organization Friends Outside. After returning to her hometown, she continued her work in the non-profit sector with Ignite (formerly Teen Living Program), an organization that serves teens experiencing homelessness. Myra was a free spirit who embraced adventure, whether it took her to Yosemite or Ethiopia, and, she loved connecting with people. She was a natural teacher who brought light and hope into the lives she touched. Music fed her spirit and she would often spontaneously burst into song. She departed this world on May 27, 2020. She is remembered fondly by the chosen family of lifelong friends that she created in California and Chicago, her worldwide Rastafari community, and by her surviving children Acquanetta Tolbert, Timothy Tolbert, Stacy Tolbert MacSwain, and Aja Tolbert Linderson. She leaves behind fourteen grandchildren [Emanuel, Brittany, Timothy Jr., Derrick, Kiara, Sadiq, Nayah, Cole, Abby, Keith, Africa, CJ, Cameran, and Jamiir], and, four great-grandchildren [Sky, Kaiden, Kartier, and Nova]. Cremation arrangements are entrusted to Michigan Cremation & Funeral Care, Grand Rapids, 616-452-3006.