Renee Sibley

An Angel from above came and touched one of God’s angelic voices and said “it’s time to sing in our heavenly choir.” Then Renee Sibley quietly stepped on a cloud to enter the gates of Heaven where she can sing to the glory of God forever more.

During the evening hours of Tuesday, November 15, 2022, our beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, cousin, and friend departed her life for her eternal home.

On August 13, 1953, on a beautiful summer day, Renee was born to the late Willie and Queen Sibley, Sr. in Norfolk, Virginia. She was the third of four children. Renee confessed her love of Christ at an early age and started working in her church. She was a member of Oakwood Chapel Church of Christ where she served as the Church Clerk for over 25 years, sang in the Senior Choir and the Angelic Choir, which she founded, and was a member of the Floral and Book Clubs. 

At the age of 10, Renee was told she could sing by her music teacher, Mrs. Charlotte Ambrose, and given her first solo. Because of Renee’s passion for singing, Mrs. Ambrose challenged her with extra lessons and solos that strengthened her ranges and exercised her angelic, soprano voice. By the time she was a young adult, she could hold notes that were not easily achievable, like those in “The Lord’s Prayer”, “He Decided to Die”, “If We Ever Needed the Lord (We Sure Do Need Him Now)”, and “He Should Wear a Golden Crown”. Her passion for singing led her to sing in weddings, funerals, and school programs.

Renee graduated from Norview High School in 1971 and from Norfolk State University (NSU) in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education. Shortly after her years as an NSU Spartan, she began her teaching career. Renee was a teacher for 30 years. In 1971, she began her teaching career at Madison Alternative Junior High School where she taught the fourth and fifth grades. Later, she taught the fifth and sixth grades at Larchmont Elementary, where she was selected as “Teacher of the Year” in 1988. During the final years of her career, she taught the fourth and fifth grades at Willard Model Elementary School. 

At the age of 26, Renee married and was blessed with her first daughter Rochelle by the age of 29. Ten years later, God blessed her with a second daughter by the name of Ria. She enjoyed watching the Hallmark channel, Richard Grier movies, Grey’s Anatomy, and frying chicken for her girls on movie night. Renee loved her family and their traditions, especially when she fried her famous chicken wings and made potato salad for her nephews’ Christmas Eve visits.    

Renee lived an amazing life that included traveling with her daughters, sister, and brother-in-law, outings with her teacher colleagues like the BLTs and her 5thgrade Larchmont team, and she truly loved her church.

Renee is predeceased by her parents, Willie and Queen Sibley, Sr. and her sister Delores Brown. Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Rochelle Bakare of Washington, D.C. and Ria Brown of Norfolk, Virginia; 1 sister Mary Packer (Willie) of Chesapeake, Virginia and 1 brother Willie Sibley, Jr. (Sabrina) of Chesapeake, Virginia; 1 grandson, Ryan Brownanderson of Washington, D.C. and 1 granddaughter, Jhene` Brown-Whitfield of Norfolk, Virginia; and a host of nieces, nephews, other relatives, her former teacher colleagues, her church family, and other friends.  

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Renee Sibley, please visit our floral store.