My sister and her enduring legacy

Grief can be a strange thing. When we experience loss of any kind, it immediately takes root. Maybe you first sense its presence as a lump in your throat or that unmistakable sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach.

The latter is exactly what I felt as my phone rang just before 3 a.m. on Saturday, March 28th.

Mom flashed across the screen, and I just knew something was wrong. In a voice that carried the same worry I felt in my own chest, my mom told me she had just spoken with my brother-in-law. He asked the family to come to the hospital. My sister had been rushed there in the night as, unbeknownst to them at the time, pneumonia had taken hold. The doctor was now requesting the presence of her loved ones.

They didn’t say why, but I already knew. Loss is not a stranger to me.

The eldest of my mother’s three daughters, Janaeya Danielle Carmouche, was born on February 1, 1982. She was thirteen years my senior, and I adored my cool, big sister. By the time she went off to Huntsville to begin her studies in public relations at Sam Houston State University, I was a precocious five-year-old who was already devouring any book I could get my hands on.

Janaeya would come home on weekends or school breaks with laundry and textbooks in tow. Being the curious and admiring little sister I was, I would sneak into her makeup, try on her jewelry and shoes, peruse the pages of her CD binders, and read the huge books she spent so much time highlighting and taking notes in.

You may wonder what a preschooler could understand from college-level textbooks.

Quite a lot, actually. Personally, I credit this experience as part of the reason I consistently scored college-level on standardized tests since grade school and developed a robust vocabulary early. Our mother impressed upon us the importance of higher education and learning, but it was Janaeya who first showed me what that could look like.

Another principle our mother instilled in us was civic engagement and community service. They are often treated as separate ideas, but in our lives, they were inseparable. Caring about your community meant showing up for it in whatever way you could.

There is a belief, sometimes spoken and sometimes implied, that we owe each other nothing. That was never how we were raised. We understood early that people depend on one another. That community is not optional; it is essential. These lessons were passed down to us in the form of big Sunday dinners cooked with the intention of having enough leftovers to fill Tupperware containers we’d deliver to neighbors in need. They were woven into the weekends my mom, my sisters, and I spent cleaning and decorating our grandparents’ home as they grew older and could no longer manage those things themselves.

In the way my mom loved every child in her orbit – gathering her kids, nieces, and nephews to take us to museums, free events around the city, and anywhere else that might expose us to art, music, or something new.

What we learned in those small, intimate acts of care did not stop at our front door. My sister carried those lessons with her, shaping how she showed up for our community at large and the city she loved.

Janaeya moved back home to Houston after college and began giving her time back to her community. While volunteering at the Phoenix Outreach Youth Center, she met Jarvis Johnson, who was serving as the center director at the time. When he ran for Houston City Council in 2005 to represent District B, she joined his campaign. It was her introduction to campaign work, and it ignited a spark in her. It also marked the beginning of her habit of recruiting my mom and I to volunteer alongside her, connecting us with the work she cared deeply about.

After Johnson was elected, she joined his staff as an aide and soon became the Director of Special Projects. In that role, she worked across policy, media, and community relations. Whether she was working with the Mayor’s Office, city departments, local nonprofits or artists, she had a way of bringing different groups to the same table to focus on what communities actually needed.

Some of that work appeared in public spaces, including collaborations that brought new design and energy to places like Jamail Skatepark in downtown Houston. Other times, it looked like long days spent responding to constituent concerns, building relationships with community advocates, and making sure people felt heard by their city government.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, that same instinct to take care of people became especially clear. She helped coordinate FEMA distribution sites at Texas Southern University and the University of Houston, ensuring families could access food, water, and supplies. She also helped secure additional support for children through partnerships with groups such as the Houston Rockets and House of Tiny Treasures.

Regardless of the cause she was focused on, she was always thinking about how to open doors for people and move resources closer to the communities that needed them most.

That same spirit showed up in her professional work and in the ways she gave her time to others. For nearly two decades, she served in social justice, community development, and disaster response ministries at The Community of Faith Church. She was also a founding board member of The Bread of Life, Inc., and remained actively involved in initiatives such as the Harris County One for All Foundation (formerly Harris County Street Olympics).

Over time, her commitment to this work only deepened. As her career grew, so did the scale of the communities she served and the complexity of the issues she helped address. What remained constant was her focus on bringing people together and making sure community voices were part of the process.

Later, Janaeya focused on public engagement and community-centered policy work across the Greater Houston region. She connected residents with elected officials, public institutions, and organizations working on issues such as disaster recovery, economic development, housing, and transportation. She organized community forums and helped translate complex policies into something people could engage with.

As Deputy Director and Interim Director of Community Engagement for Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, she served as a liaison between thousands of Houstonians and the county government and coordinated disaster response efforts following Hurricane Harvey.

She sat on committees that championed diversity and inclusion initiatives within Harris County businesses and developed a county-wide initiative that benefited over 1.2 million residents by restoring personal records and improving access to housing, employment, and transportation resources.

As Public Affairs Manager at Outreach Strategists, Janaeya focused on building trust between institutions and the communities they serve through public engagement and government relations initiatives. More recently, she continued advising organizations and campaigns on strengthening relationships between institutions and the public, keeping her approach grounded in connection and accessibility.

Even as her work evolved, her belief in civic participation remained constant, eventually leading her to run for Houston City Council At-Large Position 3.

The love she poured into her community was the same love she poured into her family and friends. It shaped everything she did. As a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she lived out its mission of “service to all mankind” in ways that were both visible and deeply personal. She was a fourth-generation Prunty/McCree AKA, and she carried the legacy with intention.

She never forgot a birthday and showed up to every graduation, baptism, baby shower, first communion, performance, wedding, or family gathering. In those rare moments when she couldn’t attend, she found a meaningful way to send you her love and support. After my son was born, she came to visit us in the hospital, bringing her trademark humor that made me laugh so hard I had to clutch a pillow to my abdomen in fear of ripping my stitches.

Her generosity knew no bounds, and she embraced every opportunity to give her time, love, or resources. Anyone who knew her likely has a story of offering a simple compliment, only for her to immediately try to give them whatever it was they admired. Not just offering it but insisting she give it to you.

She was the first to volunteer when anyone needed help, driving our mom to appointments and errands when she could no longer drive herself. When mom underwent surgery to remove a cancerous mass, she stayed by her side through it all. After mom’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, she remained a calm and steady presence, ready to guide us, asking, “What’s our next step?”

She extended that care across her family. She looked after her paternal grandmother as her health declined, and later stepped in when her father needed support. When her aunt required help after surgery, she was there for her too, remaining a close and steady companion to the end of her life. She helped our cousins arrange our uncle’s funeral, and later their mother’s.

Janaeya was also the one who always found ways to bring us together. She helped me plan my baby shower, organized a lovely girls’ outing for Mother’s Day a few years ago, and hosted our mom’s 70th birthday party this past January.

When she got married, she tenderly embraced her “bonus” children and later her grandchildren, who knew her as “Lola”. When her granddaughter’s mother suddenly passed away last year, she lovingly stepped up to care for her without hesitation. She loved them all as her own.

Janaeya embodied commitment to community, not just when it was easy or convenient, but when it was needed most. She showed me what it looks like to move through the world with a steady, intentional kind of care, never performative or conditional. I may not be able to call her the way I once did, but I find comfort in returning to those lessons and memories, carrying them forward in my own life.

Though grief may have taken root, so has everything she gave us. It remains, steady and living, in all of us who knew her.

Those who feel moved can honor Janaeya’s legacy by donating in her name to the One for All Foundation – Institute for Change Program or by giving their time on May 2nd for Janaeya’s Day of Service with Bread of Life, Inc.