Brother and sister take final journey together

Cecil Campbell and Beverly Stewart, brother and sister, were both born in Congo Town, Wakefield, Trelawny. They were born in different years and they led different lives. Cecil studied International law and Beverly, after a short stint as a teacher, qualified as a nurse.

They died on different dates in January, but their thanksgiving ceremony took place together at the William Knibb Baptist Church. They were later buried side by side in the Martha Brae Cemetery last Saturday.

Cecil, 54, died on January 8 after a battle with prostate cancer. Beverly, 72, died on January 30.

Cecil was eulogised by his brother, Albert, as a natural leader, a family-oriented man, and one who always had his wits about him. Beverly was eulogised by Lettuce Brown, who said that "as a nurse, she was like a modern-day Florence Nightingale".

Reverend Devere Nugent, who delivered the sermon, made reference to the story of the rich man and Lazarus as told in the Gospel of St Luke. He noted that unlike the rich man, Lazarus was named in the scriptures, a sign that his life touched others.

"Luke made a 'smaddy' out of Lazarus. The brother and sister whom we mourn were both 'smaddy', as you heard in the tributes. In the Bible, one was carried and the other buried. You, who are here within the hearing of my voice, live your lives in such a manner that you will be a 'smaddy'," Nugent urged.

Beverly was buried in a modern vault and Cecil was buried in a dirt grave.

"He specifically requested that he be buried in a grave similar to that of his beloved grandmother. He wanted no vault, and believed that from the earth he came, and he should go back to the earth," Albert said.