Ortheia Barnes at the Thanksgiving Parade
Detroit singer Ortheia Barnes, who was known for her rich alto voice , her ministry and her work in Africa, died Friday in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands where she had gone to perform, the Detroit News reports. She was 70.
Susan Whitall of The Detroit News reports:
"Some people come into our lives and quickly go," said WCHB-AM 1200 air personality Mildred Gaddis, a friend. "Some come and touch our hearts, stay for a while and we're never ever the same.
"Anybody who has the Ortheia Barnes-Kennerly experience was never the same," said Gaddis. "She did not meet strangers. She was passionate about life. She loved people and she certainly loved Detroit."
Her website says that she had owned a Detroit nightclub in the 1980s called “Ortheia’s Place” and had a cable TV show, recorded commercials and recorded a number of songs "I Really Love The Lord "– Westbound Records.
