Gretell was our hero Family, colleagues mourn late JCF sergeant

Six years ago, Alicia Campbell Dawkins stood with her family as they buried her brother, Ancel.

On Sunday, she found herself grieving her sister, Gretell Campbell.

For Campbell Dawkins, the cruel coincidence was almost too painful to say aloud.

“Gretell. I find myself between Anel and Gretell. Anel died six years ago and we buried Anel, and now death skipped me and went on to Gretell,” she said.

Campbell, who served the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) for more than 15 years, died on July 24, 2026, following a period of illness. She was remembered during a thanksgiving service at the Gayle Seventh-day Adventist Church in St Mary on Sunday.

“My mother would say the fairy tale has ended because Anel and Gretell are gone,” said Campbell Dawkins as she paid tribute to her sister with whom she shared and unbreakable bond.

Campbell, she said, was no fairy-tale character to the family, she was the sister who listened. The one who could be trusted with a secret. The one who helped care for the children. The one who brought members of the family into the Seventh-day Adventist faith. And the one they could call on.

“When I learnt of Gretell’s sickness it breaks my heart. I cry because I felt so sorry for her,” she said.

Campbell Dawkins remembered the sister she grew up with in Coxpiece, St Mary — a woman who had become a safe place for the people around her.

“Gretell was such a kindhearted person. She was a sister who would listen to us when we talk. She’s that person I could say, ‘Gretell, I tell you this, don’t say it,’ you know, and I know it will not be heard because Gretell was like somebody like that.”

Gretell did not simply listen to family members. She became part of their lives in ways that lasted across generations.

There was even humour in the memories.

When Campbell Dawkins was about 19 and became pregnant, she tried to hide it from her parents — and from Gretell. She bought baby clothes and tucked them beneath her mattress.

But Gretell found them.

“One day Gretell brought the baby clothes and she said, ‘What is this, Alicia?’ And that was how the story broke out.”

For Campbell Dawkins, her sister was also the family’s spiritual trailblazer.

“Gretell was this kind of person that we will never forget. She’s a sister among us that, I tell you, she stood out. She stood out. She made us proud. ...Gretell was our hero,” she said.

Campbell joined the JCF on November 15, 2010, and served in administrative and operational roles before her final assignment as sub-officer in charge of the general office at the Portland Divisional Headquarters.

She was promoted to corporal in 2017 and sergeant in 2023. She received commendations for efficient and dedicated work in 2013 and 2022, completed 10 professional courses and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Superintendent Ainsley McCarthy, commanding officer for the Portland Police Division, described her as a disciplined and dedicated officer who carried out her duties with professionalism and integrity.

“Beyond the uniform and the rank was a remarkable human being,” he said.