On Friday, 10th July 2026, a beloved former member of our Anguilla community and a much-loved friend of mine, Stephanie Stokes Oliver, passed away in Seattle, Washington. She is mourned by family and friends across the globe too numerous to name. Our heartfelt condolences, love, and prayers are extended to all who grieve the loss of this magnificent soul. Most especially, her beloved husband, Reginald “Reggie” Oliver, who was also a treasured resident of Anguilla, along with her 101-year old mother, Mrs. Josephine “Miss Jo” Stokes, daughters, brother, cousins, and grands.
All’a we in the literary communities in Anguilla, Saint Martin, and the USA are deeply saddened by the passing of Stephanie. She was a Howard University alumna, distinguished writer, former Essence magazine editor, founding editor-in-chief of Heart & Soul, and published author.
Stephanie Stokes Oliver’s four non-fiction books include Daily Cornbread: 365 Secrets for a Healthy Mind, Body, and Spirit, Seven Soulful Secrets for Finding Your Purpose & Minding Your Mission, Black Ink: Literary Legends on the Peril, Power, and Pleasure of Reading and Writing, and Song for My Father: Memoir of an All-American Family.
Stephanie was an Anguilla Lit Fest committee member and also a founding board member of the Anguilla Literary Foundation. Her passion for writing and numerous connections she had in the literary arts industry contributed significantly to enriching the Anguilla Lit Fest, A Literary Jollification held from 2012 to 2015. Were it not for Stephanie’s extraordinary contacts with internationally renowned authors and publishers, Anguilla’s literary festival wouldn’t have had such distinguished guest participants, who included actors, authors, editors, poets, publicists, and publishers like Nikki Giovanni and Sheryl Lee Ralph.
Reginald and Stephanie Oliver were devoted supporters of the Anguilla Lit Fest and St Martin Book Fair. These two extraordinary persons were a powerhouse couple and an integral part of the Anguilla community. Stephanie moderated several panel discussions at the Lit Fest and was a guest author at the 2011 literary festival in St Martin alongside St Lucia’s Nobel Laureate in Literature, Derek Walcott.
Stephanie was a gentle soul, soft spoken, eloquent, and elegant. Reggie was a warrior who educated people on the Black Power Movement. They both loved Anguilla and the people who reside in this small island nation. I believe they would have remained here had it not been for Stephanie’s breast cancer diagnosis and her elderly mother, Miss Jo, who needed care.
Both Stephanie and I are writers who hail from the Emerald City, a sea-town on Puget Sound in the USA’s Pacific Northwest region. Our paths didn’t cross until one day when we encountered each other on this beautiful tranquillity wrapped in blue island paradise called Da Rock or Malliouhana. After meeting Stephanie for the first time many years ago, I telephoned my daddy, the late Dr. Richard P. Ferguson, in Seattle and told him that I had met Stephanie Stokes Oliver.
Dad replied that he knew Stephanie’s father who was a judge in Washington State. I was wholly amazed to find out that my father had a connection with her dad yet neither of us knew of their relationship until we met in Anguilla. Our meeting is a prime example of the six degrees of separation amongst humans that was portrayed in a Hollywood Box Office movie that I saw, but can’t recall the title of the film.
Steph and Reggie connected me to the two different worlds that I have lived in and gone back ‘n forth between for the past 21 years. Visiting the Clan of Fergus and living up north in America is so different from livin’ me full-joy life in the Caribbean. Although I rarely saw these two cherished friends when we were State side, we oftentimes linked up on the island. I will truly miss Stephanie’s presence on earth. She was a person whom I greatly admired and was privileged to become acquainted with during the past 14+ years.
How did this amazing, wonderful couple of lovebirds come to Anguilla? I do not know the particulars of their creative story. It really doesn’t matter because Jah is the One who brought them to these shores. We, who have known them, are truly blessed to have become their acquaintances. Our lives wouldn’t be the same had our souls’ journeys not intersected. Giving thanks to the Almighty for Stephanie’s gifts to the world.
Ms. Kay M Ferguson is a contributing columnist who writes on diverse topics affecting the Anguilla community. She encourages everyone to evolve and positively transform our world. Link with Kay at anguillawriter@gmail.com
