Service for CAPT Pollard, NC, USN (Ret.) is as follows:
Open Visitation
Thursday, 4 April 2019, from 1500-2000
Metropolitan Funeral Services
120 W Berkley Ave, Norfolk, VA 23523
Phone: (757) 494-1800
Funeral Service
Friday, 5 April 2019, at 1000
The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception
232 Chapel St, Norfolk, VA 23504
757.622.4487
Repass
Friday, 5 April 2019, at 1200
Metropolitan Funeral Services
Great Room
120 W Berkley Ave, Norfolk, VA 23523
Phone: (757) 494-1800
Cards, etc.
CAPT Pollard’s sister
Ms. Edna Garrison
1 Makefield Rd.
Apt. #C89
Morrisville, PA 19067
TRIBUTES (Click to expand)
Chaplain Kimberly Cain
“When The Ancestors Sleep”
By
Chaplain Kimberly Cain
Naval Station Norfolk Deputy Command Chaplain
Former NNOA National Chaplain
“Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem.” So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established. 1 Kings 2:10-12
Dearest NNOA Family & Friends,
It is with a heavy heart that I offer my deepest condolences and words of solace in the recent loss of a stalwart member and founder Ret. Captain Sandy Pollard. In her third book, “A letter to my daughter” Phenomenal Woman and Poet Laureate, Dr. Maya Angelou wrote,“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them. Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud. Do not complain. Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution. Never whine. Whining lets a brute know that a victim is in the neighborhood.” This powerful statement is the epitome of Retired Captain Sandy Pollard’s influence upon my life and the lives of so many that she touched. Her finger prints are gracefully etched throughout the span of my Naval career, my personal life, the lives of my daughters and so many others. She is the one who time after time breathed life into a dying or hopeless situation. I cannot recall a time when I did not see her smiling or having an encouraging word. Just this past Tuesday evening, at our monthly Tidewater Chapter NNOA meeting she was present and contributed with the same level of passion and enthusiasm for her beloved NNOA. I wish that we could all bring that level of gracious love to our organization! CAPT Pollard is a titan in our timeline! May we continue her trailblazing legacy as she now sleeps with the ancestors. When David was anointed King, there was strife between the “anointed” King David and the people’s “chosen” King Saul. What God “anoints”, God also firmly established. NNOA is forever “established” by the testimony of our ancestors! Especially those who now sleep like The Golden Thirteen, Phyllis Mae Dailey, Jesse LeRoy Brown, John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. Those whose lives have irrevocably transformed the life & legacy of one who now sleeps with the ancestors, Ret. CAPT Sandy Pollard. May we always speak your great name.
Rev. Kimberly Cain, LCDR, CHC, USN
Ed Gantt, CAPT, USN (Ret.)
I was really shocked to hear of CAPT Sandy Pollard’s passing a few days ago. Sandy was such a big part of the National Naval Officer’s Association. Since meeting her at an NNOA annual conference back in 1979, I don’t think I have ever been to an NNOA conference where Sandy was not working either with registration or membership, or in some capacity to help the conference go smoothly.
At that 1979 NNOA Conference in Washington, DC, I was an Ensign with less than two years on active duty and attending my second NNOA Conference. I think Sandy had just transferred from the Naval Hospital at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico, to the Naval Hospital at Portsmouth, VA. With her staunch support of NNOA (only seven years old at that time), Sandy made such a positive impression on me that I tried to follow in her footsteps supporting NNOA.
I was equally impressed that as a Lieutenant Commander back then, Sandy knew every one of the Black Admirals and senior officers; the people I had read about as the trailblazers in this Navy. Granted, we’re talking about only four or five Admirals and about 30 Black Captains on active duty at that time, but she knew them all, by name. More importantly, they all seemed to know her too.
Later, when I served as NNOA Chapter President for three years in Tidewater, Sandy was always one of our more-dedicated chapter members. Each year, she was the head of one of our committees, activities, or our scholarship program, or our professional development. So many officers sat down after a year or two of intense dedication, suffering from (or claiming) burn-out. But Sandy never slowed down, and definitely never stopped working for NNOA, locally and nationally.
I remember Sandy Pollard at the NNOA Registration desk, checking us in at some annual conference somewhere. Pick a city, pick a year, pick an NNOA conference…Sandy Pollard was a consistent presence.
Sandy will be missed tremendously. But I will remember Sandy Pollard. I’m sure that most of you will as well.
Ed Gantt, CAPT, USN (Ret.)