A woman described by Mayor Lovely Warren as a ‘trailblazer and a fighter’ for the Rochester community has died.
Vernice Warfield died at home Monday morning at the age of 102. Warren says the first key to the city she gave as mayor was to Reverend Warfield, who was an ordained minister and community organizer, among other accomplishments.
Warren says without trailblazers like Warfield, she would not be mayor. “Her legacy lives on through the thousands of lives she touched, the children she fought for, the men and women of color she mentored, and the parishioners who found peace and inspiration through her weekly services,” Warren said.
Warfield lived off of Main Street for 65 years, although she was a native of Texas.
Warfield’s background included a job as an aircraft worker during World War Two. She was one of three black students enrolled at the University of Rochester and later became a minister and was a pastor at a church in Auburn.
Warfield’s son is the dancer and artist Thomas Warfield and her brother in law was the bass-baritone singer and actor William Warfield.
On his Facebook page, Thomas Warfield wrote that his mother died peacefully on her couch, just the way she wanted, and he thanked all of those in the community who have been supportive
