GoodHeart |Centenarian Louise Atkinson ‘blessed’ to receive Badge of Honour
Walks to collect award for 60 years of service in the field of pharmacy
Published:Saturday | October 25, 2025 | 12:06 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
On National Heroes Day, Elsa Louise Capleton Atkinson was recognised for 60 years of service in the field of pharmacy. Nicely dressed, with her nails well manicured and a smile on her face, the 101-year-old pharmacist collected her Badge of Honour for Meritorious Service from the governor general.
“I am feeling blessed ... very blessed ... to receive this honour. I wasn’t expecting it, and yes, I was very surprised when I heard. I am a Christian lady. My daughter was brought up in a Christian home, we are all Christian people,” a beaming Atkinson told GoodHeart.
Standing proudly beside Atkinson were her daughter Michelle Williams – her only child– and her nurse, Venice Grant, both of whom sang her praises.
“I’m truly, truly excited for her because she really deserves it. She’s worked really hard [achieving] 60 years in pharmacy, and for her to be honoured ... it’s a blessing. She’s blessed, and we are blessed to have her. And, as you can see, she’s in excellent health ... all her faculties ... she keeps us going. She keeps us on our toes,” Williams shared, adding with a twinkle in her eyes, “Yuh notice the nails?”
Grant described the centenarian as “a great patient, who is fun to be around” and Atkinson interjected to point out that her nurse is “family”.
Asked what is the nicest thing about her mother, Williams responded with a question of her own, “How much time yuh have?”
“My mother is as sincere as can be; what you see is what you get. She loves her Lord. And I think that is something that oozes out of her. She’s always giving a compliment. She sees something good in everything and everyone, so that is something that we enjoy about her. She’s always concerned, always giving some word of advice,” Williams said, adding, “She has two grandsons who she dotes on, and she just has a ball with them all the time. And we love her, her nurses love her. We don’t even refer [to] them as nurses. Just, as she says, we’re all one big family and I’m blessed to have them too. And it’s really a blessing to have her, to have them and also as a family to be with her,” Williams shared.
For the centenarian, who served at Oxford Pharmacy and Silver Slipper Pharmacy, both in St Andrew, every day of her six decades was special because she had a mission to help others. She lived the oath of pharmacists which states: “I promise to devote myself to a lifetime of service to others through the profession of pharmacy. In fulfilling this vow, I will consider the welfare of humanity and relief of suffering my primary concerns”.
Atkinson, who shared that her boss rewarded her with a ring for her years of service and her honesty, emphasised that she loved her job.
“I met so many different people from all over. It has been wonderful. I remember once a lady was going away and she was having some problems and one of my patients told her, ‘Don’t go to any doctor, let me take you to Miss Capleton.’ When they told me what was the problem, I mixed up some things for her to drink and I told her not to eat anything on the plane. When she returned to Jamaica, she brought me a lovely gift.”
Amazingly strong for her age, she takes pride in still doing her daily walks, and had walked on her own two feet to receive her Badge of Honour from Sir Patrick Allen at King’s House.
“I get up every morning at about 6 o’clock and I bathe myself. Ask my nurse. And I walk every morning ... eight times from the gate to the garage. And I have my weights,” Atkinson said with a satisfied smile.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica was also proud to honour Atkinson, whose “integrity and dedication truly embody the spirit of service celebrated on National Heroes Day”. She was among the honorees featured in the organisation’s 40th Annual Conference Magazine, which “recognised their remarkable service to pharmacy and to Jamaica”.