Carrie Loma Secret

Blessed! On Easter Sunday, March 29, 1942, Carrie Loma Secret was blessed to be added to the family of Roscoe and Louise Secret in Omaha, Nebraska. Carrie received her early education at Kellom Elementary School and Technical Junior High School and graduated from Central High School in June 1960.

At the age of 10, Carrie accepted Christ and knew no other way of life. She was saved and filled with the Holy Ghost during a revival under the leadership of Mother Luxola Williams at Grace Tabernacle Church of God in Christ in Omaha, Nebraska, under the leadership of Bishop Monte Bradford.

From an early age, Carrie was a diligent and faithful participant in the work of the church. She served as a Sunday School teacher, choir member locally and jurisdictionally, and, at only 18 years old, as a State Purity Class leader. She fondly remembered her years at Grace Tabernacle, including the training she received and the opportunity to travel to national church conventions with Jeannie, Kathy, Marvie, and Lennie. With the Bishop’s blessing, Carrie and her family helped rebuild and grow New Bethel COGIC, under Pastor Elias C. Cooper, where she remained until relocating to California.

Carrie graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in February 1966 with a major in Elementary Education and a minor in Humanities. After graduation, she migrated to Oakland, California, where she lived with Jacob and Lennie (Pace) Perry as she began the next chapter of her life. In Oakland, Carrie united with Mingleton Temple COGIC under the leadership of Elder V. F. Devers and later Pastor Johnny and Lady Alice Evans.

Carrie was immediately hired by the Oakland Unified School District as a classroom teacher. What began as a career became a 45-year legacy of educating and empowering children. For decades, she taught at Prescott Elementary School, where she worked with generations of students and became a treasured part of the Prescott community.

On October 18, 1977, Carrie met Arnold Eugene Blueford. From that relationship came her beloved son, Jaron Secret Blueford, whom she often declared was the greatest accomplishment of her life.

Through Jaron, Carrie was blessed to become a grandmother to Liaya Nichole (Jehan), Diamonique Rose, and Jalen (Donielle). She was deeply involved in their lives and played an especially important role in helping raise Diamonique and Jalen following the death of their mother, Donielle.

In 1990, Carrie earned a Master’s Degree from United States International University. She continued her professional development through extensive educational coursework, earning Ph.D.-equivalent recognition through the school district based on her years of advanced study and professional development.

Carrie’s educational work gained national and international attention during the 1996–1997 Ebonics controversy. Her classroom became a model observed by educators and others interested in innovative approaches to language instruction. Long before the Oakland School Board’s landmark resolution, Carrie was validating her students’ home dialects while teaching them how to translate those expressions into standard public-forum English. She believed that a child’s language and culture should never be treated as a measure of intelligence. Instead, she used students’ home language as a bridge to help them master standard English. Her teaching incorporated identity affirmation, community observation, and progressive instructional strategies designed to help children succeed.

Her work produced measurable results and opened doors for her to present workshops to school districts throughout the United States. Carrie also served as a professor at the University of California and the University of San Francisco.

In 2008, Carrie retired from the Oakland Unified School District and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. She became a member of Bethesda Church of God in Christ under the leadership of Pastor Daryl and Lady Sandra Harris. Carrie, fondly known as Auntie Carrie, loved her Bethesda church family dearly. She would Often say, with her characteristic conviction, "I will fight air about Bethesda!"

Her love for education never left her. In 2017, through her relationship with her church leaders, Carrie met Marcus Mason, then principal of Booker Elementary School. He hired her immediately to help students strengthen foundational reading skills. Carrie served at Booker Elementary until the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in March 2020.

But Carrie was still not finished teaching! She brought her passion for reading to Bethesda’s tutoring program, where she helped students make remarkable progress. Some students advanced from reading only two words per minute to 18 words per minute. Test scores improved, but perhaps even more importantly, students’ confidence and self-esteem were restored.

In July 2026, Carrie joined other educators at Bethesda in reimagining the reading initiative, which became “Seeds of Sound,” a program designed to begin nurturing literacy by encouraging parents to read to their children beginning during pregnancy.

Carrie was always, in her words and Bethesda’s, a “member in GOOD standing!” And in true Carrie fashion, there is a story behind that too. She originally wrote “GREAT standing,” then scratched out “GREAT” because, as she explained, she wanted to be kind to all the other members!

With all of her educational accomplishments and professional expertise, Carrie never stopped serving the church she loved. She was a fierce supporter of her leaders and her ministry. She seldom missed a service and never missed an event. Carrie served on the Mother’s Board, Trustee Board, and as a Senior Advisor to the Women’s Department. She faithfully attended Women’s Conferences, Women’s Retreats, Pastor and Wife Appreciations, Church Anniversaries, District and Jurisdictional services, and countless other gatherings. Even in her mature years, Carrie remembered what her parents had taught her: love God and show that love through how you serve.

She often said that she refused to be “a mean old woman.” Instead, she encouraged young people, supported their growth, and made herself available to help whenever she could.

Many will remember Carrie by her unforgettable sayings:

“My car knows its way home!”

“If I wear it together, it goes together.”

And when someone complimented her beautiful attire, she would simply respond:

“I know!”

That was Carrie.

She was the epitome of a lady. She loved beautiful shoes—especially high heels—wonderful fragrances, and fine clothing. Yet, without hesitation, this beautifully dressed woman could plop down on the floor to help a child learn to read. She was elegant, determined, brilliant, funny, faithful, and unapologetically herself.

Carrie Loma Secret leaves a legacy that reaches far beyond the classrooms where she taught. Her life touched churches, schools, educators, children, families, and generations of learners. She demonstrated that faith and education could walk hand in hand, and that excellence in one’s profession never excuses us from serving God and others.

Carrie was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Mother Louise and Deacon Roscoe Secret, Sr.; her brothers, Dr. Phillip Secret, Roscoe Secret, Jr., and Lamond Secret; her sister, Annette Secret; and her niece, Tihesha Secret. She was also preceded in death by her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and other loved ones who helped shape her life and whose memories she carried with her throughout the years.

Carrie leaves to cherish her memory: Her beloved son, Jaron (Cameran); Her grandchildren, Liaya of Auburn Hills, Michigan, Diamonique, and Jalen of Las Vegas, Nevada; Her sister, Roxie Idelle Alred of Omaha, Nebraska; Her brother, Akil (Laverne) Secret of Atlanta, Georgia; Her sister-in-love, Cheryl Secret of Omaha, Nebraska; Her sister-cousin, Lennie (Samuel) Pace McQueen of Oakland, California; Her goddaughter, Jacolyn “Jacki” (Joseph “Dwayne”) Hogans of Las Vegas, Nevada; Her godson, Roderick (Twanna) Rogers of Oakland, California; The faculty, staff, and students of Prescott Elementary School and Booker Elementary School; Her beloved Bethesda family; And a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, former students, colleagues, and others whose lives were blessed by her presence.

Carrie lived a life of faith, service, education, elegance, humor, and love.

She taught children how to read, taught educators how to see possibility, encouraged young people to become their best, and showed generations what it looks like to love God through service.

A faithful servant. A gifted educator. A devoted mother and grandmother. A beloved church mother. A lady in every sense of the word. A member in GOOD standing.

And yes, Carrie—we know!