Coral Springs mourns vice mayor at funeral: ‘She will be remembered for how she lived’

City Commissioner Joshua Simmons walked onto the stage at Church by the Glades in Coral Springs with a speech in hand because that’s what his friend Nancy Metayer Bowen would want him to do.

Weeks ago, he and Metayer stood side-by-side on the dais of the Coral Springs city commission. On Friday, he spoke at her funeral.

“I can hear Nancy,” Simmons said. “‘Listen! You gotta prepare!’ I want to make sure I send my friend off the right way.”

Hundreds of family, friends, elected officials, residents and city staff gathered Friday to celebrate the life of 38-year-old Metayer, the vice mayor of Coral Springs and the first Black and Haitian American woman to become commissioner in the city’s history.

Metayer was found dead in her home on April 1. Police arrested and charged her husband Stephen Bowen with murder. The tragedy sent shockwaves through South Florida where Metayer was a rising political star and a beacon in the local Haitian-American community. She was elected to the Coral Springs city commission in 2020.

A steady stream of mourners — those who knew Metayer personally and those who did not — filed into the sanctuary Friday morning to pay their respects at Metayer’s casket. She laid in a sparkly light pink dress. Her family sat in the front row across from her. Some in the church wailed openly and loudly. Others quietly dabbed tears from their eyes. Others held tightly onto friends, crying onto their shoulders. For her community and loved ones, the loss of Metayer is tremendous. For many it is too much to bear.

Metayer is survived by her parents Misselin and Marly Maxime Metayer, her grandmother Marie-Theresa Maxime, her brother Francelin Metayer, her sister Jennifer Metayer-Smith and her nieces and nephew. This is the second tragedy her family has experienced in a matter of months. Her younger brother Donovan died by suicide in December.

Born Sept 4, 1987, (a proud Virgo, her friends said,) Metayer graduated from Coral Springs Charter School. She then graduated from Florida A&M University and earned her masters from John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She boasted a stacked resume with internships at the Clinton Foundation and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under President Barack Obama. She was planning to announce a run for Congress the week she died.

At the service, Simmons said it is difficult to wrap his head around the tragedy. They became close friends and formed a deep bond as two young Black commissioners. If he was running late to something, she’d text him, “Where you at?” They would vent to each other in their offices. They would crack inside jokes together. And whenever Metayer made a toast at an event, she always handed the glass she raised to Simmons. “If you see any pictures of me at Oktoberfest and I’m double-fisting, that’s because I took the vice mayor’s beer,” he said, laughing.

“This was not supposed to be the moment where we gather to say goodbye. We were supposed to be celebrating her, celebrating her leadership, celebrating everything she had accomplished and everything that was still ahead. Instead, we are here trying to make sense of something that does not make sense,” Simmons said. “Nancy Metayer was not just an elected official. She was the heart of this commission. She was the energy in every room. And she was the one who made sure people felt seen, make sure people felt heard, and made sure people felt included.”

Metayer was passionate about the environment, sustainability, women’s reproductive health and attainable housing, Simmons said. She was a high-achiever with big aspirations.

“I want to say something clearly. I need everybody to hear me with your ears and your hearts,” Simmons told the audience. “Nancy will not be remembered for how her life ended. She will be remembered for how she lived.”

‘Nancy was love incarnate’

Her loved ones remembered her as the type of person to sign up her friends for awards without telling them. The type to show up early to events to set up. The type to encourage friends to volunteer with her. The type to teach her sister a song from “Pocahontas” in sign language. The type to remind people to recycle. The type to bring out the best in others. The type to beat a high school classmate while running for student government and become his best friend.

Richard Brookshire, the co-CEO of Black Veterans Project, recalled his failed bid for vice president of his 10th grade class as he delivered the eulogy. He got to school on his bike all sweaty but with a glimmer of hope that he could win. But there was Metayer, already at school handing out warm Krispy Kreme donuts to students. He didn’t have a chance. She won by a landslide.

But Brookshire gained a beautiful friendship with Metayer, “one of the greatest blessings of my life.” He said Metayer was proud of her Haitian heritage, passionate about the environment and excellent in all she did. He recalled when she told him about one of her internships with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “I didn’t know what that was,” Brookshire said. “She told me she was working on the ocean. I said, ‘You better go, girl!’”

During their last conversation, Brookshire said, Metayer told him she was running for Congress “to be on the front lines of defending all of us.” The two friends talked political strategy just like they did in high school.

“In a world that can sometimes harden the soul, Nancy remains soft, loving, kind, generous; A reputation that preceded her and a spirit that will undoubtedly endure,” he said. “Nancy’s greatest gift was her capacity to make everyone around her feel seen, heard and safe. Nancy was love incarnate. She used her gifts in this life to give voice to the voiceless, to protect the most marginalized, never wavering and doing what was right over what was convenient.”

Many of the speakers noted how much Metayer accomplished at such a young age. Lead Pastor David Hughes invoked other leaders who died young — President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Joan of Arc.

“A life can be both brief and brilliant,” Hughes said. “Nancy’s life was both.”

Many in church were overcome with emotion throughout the service. They raised up their hands, seeking comfort from God. As a singer performed “Pi Devan Na We” in Haitian Creole, Metayer’s mother lifted her arms to the sky.

“As Haitian Americans, we both knew our roots would guide us,” said Florida State Representative Marie Woodson. “Nancy’s roots instilled in her a deep respect for her family, her colleagues, residents, entrepreneurs, students and everyone she encountered.”

Though Metayer wasn’t the oldest of her siblings, her older brother Francelin said she was his “big little sister.” Her sister Jennifer said Metayer was her role model and “built-in best friend.” Metayer drove her to the hospital to give birth to her daughter, “only for my mom to be feeding her ice chips because she was feeling light-headed,” she said. The sisters talked over the phone daily, and Metayer loved spending time with her nieces, who she jokingly called her children.

“Looking at our girls, I see a little bit of us in them,” Jennifer said. “And it makes me smile.”

Through tears, Jennifer said goodbye to her sister. “Please tell Donny how much we miss him. Sleep well, beautiful.”

This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 3:10 PM.