‘We have not been doing very well’
Emotional vigil at Jessie Ripoll Primary for late principal, wife
Published:Sunday | January 19, 2025 | 12:12 AMCorey Robinson - Senior Staff Reporter
It was a sombre night at Jessie Ripoll Primary School last Friday as loved ones paid tribute to O’Neil and Camesha Stevens, who lost their lives tragically while returning home from a holiday vacation overseas earlier this month.
Students, parents, staff and relatives lit candles, cried and hugged each other as they spoke fondly about the two. For everyone, the couple’s passing was as tragic as it was sad, leaving a hole in their hearts and the professional posts they held.
Camesha’s sister, Zoann Brown, the only remaining child of their mother, spoke of how the family has been struggling to cope with the pain while trying to care for themselves and the couple’s two daughters, who are still overseas. It has been an emotional whirlwind, she said.
“We have not been doing very well, considering the loss and the tragedy of the loss. It has really not been easy on any of us,” said Brown, who described her sister as a loving, family-oriented individual, who was hardworking and dedicated to her duties.
These were all sentiments expressed by representatives from Scotiabank, who paid tribute to their late colleague.
Reality of the situation
“My mom is not doing so great. She is trying to be strong for everybody. She has my nieces, so she is trying to be strong for them, but she just lost her daughter and son-in-law in a very tragic way, so it has not been very good,” continued Brown, noting that the reality of the situation may not have fully sunken in for the couple’s children.
“Especially the younger one, because when you talk to her, she says she knows her parents love her, and she is still upbeat, but I think all of that is because she has not fully come to terms that her parents are gone forever,” said Brown.
Grief-stricken
During the vigil, Oneil’s mother, Noreen Stevens, broke down repeatedly as the tributes were paid to the late Jessie Ripoll Primary principal and his wife. Throughout the ceremony, she was consoled by acting principal Marsha Moodie-Benbow, who herself appeared grief-stricken.
Noreen’s younger son, Sheldon, was also a picture of despondence as his older brother, Dwayne, offered comfort. Oneil was the eldest of the three boys, and both siblings looked up to him with great respect.
“I wouldn’t wish this on anybody,” offered Dwayne as he listened to the tributes.
The tributes came in words, song, and dance and even featured a piano performance by young Arianna Chen, a student at the school.
“Oneil Stevens was a good principal. He was what I’ve been saying I needed more of in our education system, and I’m here to mourn with you the loss of precisely what I prayed for – a young, male, teacher and principal who was excellent at what he did and was a great leader,” said Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon.
Reflecting on Stevens’ leadership, Morris Dixon noted that in 2024, Jessie Ripoll’s grade six students demonstrated outstanding performance in their exams, achieving proficiency in 98.1 per cent of students in language arts, 96.9 per cent in mathematics, and 98 per cent in science.
“By these grades we see that Jessie Ripoll is an extraordinary institution, and extraordinary results do not happen by accident. You need to have good leadership. You need a good principal and Oneil Stevens was a good principal. ... Here was a man leading his family, taking his family on vacation. He was the type of father that I prayed to have more of in Jamaica,” she said.
The Stevenses were killed in a motor vehicle crash on a highway in South Carolina in the United States on January 3. The couple had just completed their Christmas vacation in Myrtle Beach with their two daughters and were heading to the airport to return to Jamaica ahead of the start of the new school term.