OBITUARY: Bishop Elisha Duncan, 99, Passed Away July 23, Built Community Gospel Truth Church of God in Palm Bay

Taught young ministers and led the congregation until his health failed

Bishop Elisha A. Duncan, who founded two community churches, one in the Bronx, New York and another in Palm Bay, Florida, passed on July 23, 2022. He was 99 years old.

aught young ministers and led the congregation until his health failed

He was born in Jamaica on October 15, 1922, and emigrated to New York as a young man. In New York, he raised his family with his wife, Annie Duncan, and departed leaving eight children and 16 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren who mourn his loss.

He lived a spiritual life and sported, shared and expressed a joyous life. A farmer and builder, he nurtured a fruit, flower and vegetable garden wherever he lived.

From a young age, he was active in the ministry in the U.S. and internationally. He was a builder and leader in his Bronx church, the Community Gospel Truth Church of God, Inc., and after he retired, he built the Community Gospel Truth Church of God, Inc., Florida in Palm Bay, Florida, where he taught young ministers and led the congregation until his health failed.

He lived a healthy life until the very end. With his knowledge of homegrown fruit and vegetables and healthy nutrition, he taught his family and others about healthy nutrition and living. His farming traits were inherited from many generations of ancestors.

He was featured in several newspapers when his daughter discovered by research with a Smithsonian linguist that his nickname, Pari, is inherited from generations of specific ancestors in Jamaica and five villages in Akuapem, Ghana.

Residents of these villages still use the same nicknames. His ancestors who were Maroons were healers, and so was he. He brought joy and comfort to others by singing in the Greater Palm Bay Senior Center Vocal Singers and volunteering at nursing homes, the V.A. and civic centers. His voice was distinctive and easily recognizable as a singer and preacher.

He is surely missed by family, friends and the religious community he led.

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