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JAMAICA

School administrators, staff members, Ministry of Education representatives, Roman Catholic community members,

parents, alumni, and well-wishers all converged at the Jessie Ripoll Primary School, a Catholic institution based in Kingston, to offer support and comfort each another on the tragic loss of their principal O’Neil Stevens.

Stevens and his wife, Camesha Lindsay, died in a car accident in the US, January 3.

The Gleaner reported that instead of the usual excitement marking the start of a new year and academic term at the primary school, the atmosphere was filled with “sorrow and mourning”.

“The air was thick with grief as they reflected on the heartbreaking loss of two precious lives and the impact on their two daughters, who were suddenly left orphaned,” the newspaper said.

A prayer meeting was held by Roman Catholic clergy to honour the school’s mercy tradition.

Rev Ronald Thwaites, the national coordinator for education for Catholic schools in Jamaica and a former minister of education, hailed Stevens as one of the most promising educators in Jamaica.

“This man had far to go. Circumstances have taken him away from us and we’re just mourning. We’re not mourning as people without hope. We don’t understand God’s plan, but we have no one else to rely on but Him,” said Rev Thwaites, whose wife, Marcia, is the school’s chairman.