Joycelin Honour Barnes

Joycelin Honour Barnes (nee Marshall) – January 11, 1944-May 30, 2025 – originally from San Fernando, Trinidad (the first of five children born to Hedworth and Phyllis Marshall (both deceased)) was a graduate of Mausica Teacher’s Training College and Naparima College Secondary School, both in Trinidad and Tobago, including a graduate of Howard University in Washington, DC. A beloved wife, sister, mother, grandmother, mother-in-law and respected educator/administrator who played a pivotal 35+ year role in impacting students’ lives across the DC/MD area at All Saints High School (formerly, St. Anthony’s High School), Archbishop Carroll High School as Dean of Discipline, and Friendly High School. Her motto, “Strive for Excellence,” was her hallmark credo to those who had the inimitable pleasure of knowing her in and out of the classroom.

In addition to her enviable culinary/baking skills and passion for teaching (British Literature, World Literature, and Home Economics – to name a few), Joycelin was an integral member of the Soprano Team at the Mausica Teacher’s Training College Folk Choir Group and participated on several song recordings and concerts in Trinidad and Tobago; Initiator/Moderator of CASA – the Caribbean-American Student Association at Archbishop Carroll High School, Washington, DC; Soprano Member of the Carifolk Singers, Washington, DC; Cantor and Soprano Member of the Gospel Choir at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Landover, MD; and back-up singer for several of her husband’s Calypso compositions that spanned the airwaves across Trinidad and Tobago and the DMV.

Her surviving family members include her husband, Roland (“Rollo”), of 54 years; their son, Roger; daughter-in-law, Amy, and their two grandsons, Brayden and Alex; brother, Garvin; sisters, Janet, Margaret, and Marion; and a varied combination of extended relatives including sister-in-law, Therese; brother-in-law, Gerard, and wife, Abbi; brother-in-law, Kenny, and wife, Yvonne; brother-in-law, Robert, and Harinette; brother-in-law, Donald; and countless cousins, too many to name, across Trinidad, the U.S., and Canada. Must also acknowledge two of her “forever” friends who were in her life during some of her formidable winning years – Mabel Cox at All Saints High School and Joan Bobb at Mausica Teacher’s Training College.

In Trinidad, we have a saying — it is not how long you embraced this world, but what contributions you made to enhance the lives of those around you! Such was the journey Joycelin embraced.