Tears from Mortimer at celebration of life for his mother

Internationally acclaimed reggae singer Mortimer didn’t sing at the celebration of life service for his mother – he spoke and he cried.

Inside the packed Meadowvale Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, where his mother, Denise McPherson, was baptised nearly a quarter-century ago, Mortimer McPherson Jr spoke his truth poignantly and eloquently. He tried his best to hold back the tears, but there was one point when there was no holding back and the tears simply flowed and told their own story.

“I can’t put into words how I feel. There’s just an emptiness,” Mortimer wrote on social media on August 11 upon hearing of his mother’s passing, while he was overseas flying the reggae flag high. On Sunday morning, dressed in full black, with his locks flowing, and wearing dark glasses, the Lightning singer found the words to express how he felt about the woman who was more than a biological mother, “ ...she was Mom”.

With gratitude high on his list, Denise McPherson’s son remembered the special birthday calls from his mother, even as he thanked her for every meal, every kiss, every back scratch, head rub, cold cup of Milo, and the late-night hospital benches on which she sat on with him. He hailed her as the “embodiment of kindness” and the woman who “went above and beyond even when you were carrying your own cross”.

Within the walls of the very church in which he and his siblings grew up, Mortimer gave a thought-provoking dissertation on love, and he also spoke about his mother’s dreams - for pretty curtains, a sunken living room, her catering business - and the regrets that he had on her behalf.

“Love should never be weaponised. Spiritually, for me, I believe love is meant to protect, to nurture and restore, not control or diminish or wound. I wish though that you had chosen yourself more ... chosen your dreams, chosen war over peace, sometimes just enough to protect your own worth. Maybe then you would have been cherished the way you deserve. I’m sorry you never got to live the way you always talked about ... feeling the wind at the back of your hair, dancing without caring who is watching. I wish you had more of that,” Mortimer said as the entire church listened attentively.

COMFORTING

He shared that when “darkness found [him]”, it was his mother to whom he would turn to and she would sing the Christian hymn, He Will See You Through, and her “voice would wrap around [him] like a warm blanket”. Denise McPherson, her church brethren say, had a voice like a nightingale and she passed it on to all three of her children.

Directly addressing their familial relationship, which sometimes saw them not “seeing eye-to-eye”, Mortimer said, “You tried, you really tried, especially over the last few years when things might have been a little complicated ... you tried, you really tried. You were not just a mother who gave birth, but a Mom. Yes, there’s a difference between the two. Even with the complicated nature of our relationship over the years, we still looked forward to our hugs.”

The Jamaica Reggae Industry Association 2020 Breakthrough Artiste of the Year said that he couldn’t promise that he would always sing gospel songs, as that would limit his creativity, but he promised, however, that his music “will always uplift and heal and unify”.

And, in between tears, Mortimer apologised for any pain he may have caused. “And if I was ever the reason for tears in your eyes, I am deeply sorry.”

The tributes from McPherson’s Marianna and Myiesha daughters came in the form of songs, while her widower, Mortimer Snr, a highly respected fine artist and art educator, gave a remembrance which elicited a huge round of applause from the congregation and a standing ovation from some.

President of the East Jamaica Conference (EJC) Dr Meric Walker gave the homily. Representing the EJC also were the past president, Eric Nathan, who gave the prayer for the family; EJC Executive Secretary Melvin Francis, and Communications Director Pastor Phillip Castell. Representing Meadowvale SDA were Pastor Paul Bailey and First Elder Michael Stuart. Musical director was Cadien Stuart and the Meadowvale Church Choir gave the song of meditation. Also representing were McPherson’s batchmates from the 149th batch at the then Mico College in Kingston.

Interment was at the family plot in St Elizabeth.

Denis McPherson passed away in hospital on August 11, after a long battle with cancer.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com