Sonya Carson, Mother of Dr. Ben Carson, Dies

Christian Broadcasting Network (CBNnews) ^ | Nov. 6, 2017 | Steve Warren

[Albion Wilde]

Sonya Carson, the mother of Dr. Ben Carson, the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under the Trump Administration, died Monday.

Dr. Carson and his wife Candy announced his mother's death on their Facebook page. Sonya had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2011.

While campaigning for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, Carson often quoted stories about his mother's work ethic. According to her son, she worked two or three jobs when they lived in Boston because she refused to rely on welfare programs.

"She was a little different than a lot of people around, who were always saying, 'You got two boys. You really don't need to work'. She just didn't like the idea of being dependent," he told Politico.

He often credited his mother's example for his own faith in God. Carson's life was documented in the movie Gifted Hands.

In an interview several years ago when the film was released on DVD, Sonya told CBN, "God is greater than any human being, and we have to rely on God to supply all our needs even though we don’t see how we’re going to get them."

He posted the following tribute to his mother on Facebook...

[Albion Wilde]

Dr. Carson’s tribute to his mother on Facebook:

Dr. Ben & Candy Carson
19 hrs
Today, November 6, 2017 we lost my dear mother, Sonya Carson. Although she came from an impoverished background with very little formal education, she somehow understood how success was achieved in our society. If anyone had a reason to make excuses, it was her, but she absolutely refused to be a victim and would not permit us to develop the victim mentality either. Whenever we made an excuse, she quoted the poem "Yourself to Blame." The poem is included in this post. May she rest in peace.

Yourself to Blame
by Mayme White Miller

If things go bad for you
And make you a bit ashamed
Often you will find out that
You have yourself to blame

Swiftly we ran to mischief
And then the bad luck came
Why do we fault others?
We have ourselves to blame

Whatever happens to us,
Here is what we say
"Had it not been for so-and-so
Things wouldn't have gone that way."

And if you are short of friends,
I'll tell you what to do
Make an examination,
You'll find the faults in you...

You are the captain of your ship,
So agree with the same
If you travel downward
You have yourself to blame

[ScottinVA]

RIP Mrs. Carson...

[xzins]

May God bless this good man in his time of loss.

[DIRTYSECRET]

She can be very proud of herself.

[Huskrrrr]

It sounds like Mrs. Carson and my mother had much in common. He certainly was blessed with this woman. RIP

[Jane Long]

May God bless this good man in his time of loss.

---

Amen.

And thanks be to God, for the very good fortune and blessing of Dr Carson having had this wonderful woman/mentor as his dear mother.

[Popman]

I hope the demented left can refrain themselves...

[laplata]

RIP Mrs, Carson.

[Lionheartusa1]

Thank you God and Mrs. Carson for giving us Ben ,, our sincerest thoughts and prayers are with the entire Carson family .

[dforest]

Bless you Mrs. Carson for the gift of your sweet son.
RIP

[Albion Wilde]

I've had the privilege of meeting all members of Dr. Carson's immediate family and of sitting with his mother at an event I helped organize and at which he was speaking nearly 20 years ago. He was long treasured here in Maryland, where he was head of the Pediatric Neurosurgery Department at the renowned Johns Hopkins Hospital from 1984 to 2013.

His words of encouragement to young people in his books and speeches and the Carson Scholars Fund founded by Dr. Carson and his wife Candy to help childhood literacy often made reference to his mother's insistence that he and his brother learn to read and do their homework before playing.

His mother herself, having come from great poverty, was nearly illiterate, but it was many years before Ben Carson actually realized it as he was growing up and she would look over his homework. The book she kept open for herself to study was the Bible.

[Romans Nine]

Dr. Carson is good man, one of the best in large part because of his mother. His life is a wonderful tribute to her.
May God bless him and his family in this time of loss.

[Alberta's Child]

Ben Carson's mother was poorly educated and illiterate, but she was no damn fool.

I was impressed with the narrative of her life story about how she came to realize how critical education would be for her own children. She worked a menial job cleaning homes for wealthy people, and she noticed that all of the people living there seemed to have a few things in common: they had lots of bookshelves around the house loaded with books, and she rarely ever saw them watching television. She figured that there must have been some correlation between these things and the financial success of the people living on those homes, so she tried to pattern her own family's habits after these wealthy people.

[Albion Wilde]

Sonya Carson, recent photo

Dr. Ben and Candy Carson, circa 1999

[jmacusa]

Saying Hail Marys.

[Albion Wilde]

Ping!

[mass55th]

Rest in Peace Mrs. Carson. May Dr. Carson, and the rest of his family be comforted in their loss.

[left that other site]

Prayers for Dr. Ben Carson and his family, for Comfort and Peace in this time of loss, in Jesus Holy Name, Amen

[poconopundit]

Thanks for posting Albion. Loved the poem. She was a noble soul and accomplished more than she could ever imagine raising a son with the character of Ben Carson.

I remember in the Navy, the executive officer on my ship would every once in a while call me to the carpet to ask why something wasn’t done correctly.

And he said, don’t tell me in words. Give me the number of the excuse you’re blaming it on.

And he had list of 14 common excuses on the wall.

He got his point across.

[left that other site]

My Mom passed away two years ago to the day, on November 6th 2015. I still think about her every day.