Foundation member of Jamaican Canadian Association remembered as a community builder

Pamela ‘Pam’ Powell, a founding member of the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) and a retired nurse whose life was defined by service to family, community and profession, died peacefully in Toronto on October 1. She was 92.

Among the JCA’s earliest members, Powell remained active in the organisation for 64 years, serving in a variety of leadership roles and helping to build its Women’s Committee into a powerful advocate for women within the community.

Describing her as “a beautiful and peaceful woman”, Roy Williams, the JCA’s first president, said he had never heard Powell speak ill of anyone.

“She was not a benchwarmer; she served on the board in a number of positions and she also served for a long time on the women’s committee. She was a foundation member of the women’s committee and a very instructive member, breaking ground on a lot of issues concerning women’s rights.”

Williams added that Powell was also a talented dancer and one of the association’s most faithful members. “It is a loss to all of us, a loss to the community. Sorry to see her go but she did her time and she served well.”

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, on February 27, 1934, Powell grew up in Top Hill, St Elizabeth, where she and her younger sister, Zelma Lawrence, were raised by their grandparents. The values that guided her life were instilled early.

In her profile in Jamaicans in Canada: When Ackee Meets Codfish, published in 2012 to mark Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence, Powell said her childhood ambitions were “to help other people and to travel”.

Lawrence, who lives in New York, said those aspirations reflected the example set by their grandparents.

“They instilled in us those simple values that brought us throughout our lives.”

Their grandmother, Jane Honeghan, often sent the girls to deliver care packages to relatives in need. Powell, eager to help, volunteered for every errand.

As a child, she moved so quickly that her grandmother would tell her, “you’re going to travel”. The prediction proved accurate.

Determined and independent, Powell left Jamaica for England at 17 to study nursing. She later worked at Nuttall Hospital in Kingston and Beth Israel Hospital in New Jersey before emigrating to Canada in 1961 amid a shortage of nurses in Ontario.

Over a career spanning more than three decades at Toronto Western Hospital, she rose through the ranks from registered nurse to assistant head nurse, head nurse, nurse manager and patient-care coordinator. She retired in 1995.

Powell attended Top Hill Primary School in St Elizabeth and later Kingsway High School in Kingston.

For her sister, however, Powell’s achievements were matched by her kindness.

“One of the things about her was that she listened. If I was having a problem, we would discuss it together and come up with a solution. I remember her as a friend,” Lawrence said.

She added that Powell was deeply family-oriented, making frequent trips to New York for Christmas and other family occasions while welcoming relatives to Toronto.

The same qualities that endeared her to family earned her the respect of colleagues at the JCA.

Writing on behalf of the Women’s Committee, Camille Hannays-King described Powell as a pivotal figure in the organisation’s history.

“Pam Powell was the quiet force who kept the JCA Women’s Committee alive and thriving. She never asked for recognition, never stepped into the spotlight; she simply worked with a gentle persistence that strengthened us year after year. Pam was a driving current beneath the surface of our committee, steady, reliable, and deeply committed.

“Her belief in women’s rights and her loyalty to the committee and the JCA were unwavering. She carried these values with grace, humility, and quiet courage. Pam’s sudden passing has shaken us, but her spirit remains woven into the very fabric of our work. We will honour her memory by continuing the mandate of the committee which she upheld so faithfully.”

A funeral service will be held on Saturday, October 17 at St Theodore of Canterbury Anglican Church in North York, followed by interment at Highland Memorial Gardens and a reception at Highland Funeral Home.

Adaoma Patterson-Gilling, president of the JCA, said the JCA and its Women’s Committee would host a special memorial in the coming weeks.

editorial@gleanerjm.com