A community figure with a penchant for poetry devoted much of her life to championing the island’s seniors, as a driving force for 25 years behind an annual Christmas giveaway catering to Bermuda’s elderly.

Carol Clarke’s work included Bermuda Overseas Missions, which rallied around the event in later years, also bringing together teams of volunteers to build homes in communities in need around the world. She served as the first Black woman president of the Kiwanis charitable club.

In December 2011, Ms Clarke was recognised with an award on the Queen’s New Year Honours List for her service to the community.

The head of the family business, Clarke’s Tuxedo Shop on North Shore in Pembroke, Ms Clarke devoted much of her life to raising funds and organising events for Bermuda’s elderly and less fortunate.

Her philosophy was a simple one, as she shared with The Royal Gazette in 2023, when she handed over the organising of her Christmas gathering for seniors to younger relatives: “It’s about giving back to the community what has been given to me.”

She also traced the event to the death of her father, Randal Bradford, who passed in 1983, saying: “I wanted to give back to seniors because of the fact that I had been brought up around seniors.

“I would like to see this go on, but I would like it to go from generation to generation.

“I would say to the young people, press on regardless and your rewards will come. I am a very humble person and what I do, I do from the heart.”

Ms Clarke’s son, Che Clarke, said: “My mother was a woman of service but above all, she was a woman with a heart for people.

“She had a deep compassion for those who needed extra care and always made sure our senior citizens and those less fortunate felt seen, valued and remembered.

“Her annual Christmas party for senior citizens and her feeding ministry were expressions of her love, bringing people together, creating joy and reminding others that they mattered.

“Mom was also an amazing writer, an awesome poet and a gifted pianist. Through her words, music and acts of kindness, she shared her heart and touched countless lives.

“One of the most precious parts of her legacy is knowing that she taught my daughter everything she needed to continue the Christmas tradition she held so dearly.

“She wasn’t simply passing down a tradition; she was passing down a legacy of kindness, compassion and service.”

Mr Clarke said his mother never sought recognition and that helping others was simply who she was.

He added: “Her passing has left an immeasurable void but her love continues through everyone she touched, especially her oldest granddaughter, who will carry her tradition forward.

“Mom lived by the words, “From little comes much,” and her life proved it.

“We will honour her by continuing to serve, help those in need, bring people together, and love others as she did. From little came much — and from Mom came a lifetime of love that will continue for generations.“

Aside from serving meals, the Christmas celebration was a time to give gifts and distribute grocery vouchers.

Ms Clarke started with her seniors parties in 1998 through the Kiwanis Club of Hamilton. She joined Bermuda Overseas Missions in 2015 and held the seniors gatherings at her home.

Ms Clarke recalled its modest beginnings as “a little room at Admiralty House with three trays of sandwiches and two trays of cake”.

It grew rapidly to include hundreds, with the support of volunteers and corporate sponsors.

In 2018, Bermuda Overseas Missions president David Thompson said: “I commend Carol to everyone as a role model, and if anyone did half as much charitable work as she does, the world would truly be a better place.”

She ultimately handed over the reins to her granddaughter, Naché Anderson-Clarke.

After writing poetry for decades, Ms Clarke received an International Poet of Merit award in 2000 for her work.

She told the Gazettein 2016: “I just write when I get the urge — I don’t worry about any social ills or anything like that. I’m a community-oriented person.”

Taught to play piano as a youngster, Ms Clarke spent much of a her life as a church pianist, starting at Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, Hamilton Parish — a church that her grandfather helped build.

Carolanne Elizabeth Clarke, an author and philanthropist, was born in December 28, 1958. She died in August 2026, aged 67