Eighty-two-year-old retired nurse Joyce Laceita Marriott was, over a week ago, remembered as a God-fearing woman who lived a full life of service to others.

Marriott died on May 23 after a four-year bout with cancer.

Her thanksgiving service was held at the Saxthorpe Methodist Church off Constant Spring Road in St Andrew on June 7.

The early afternoon service began with a musical prelude by the Saxthorpe Methodist combined choir, followed by opening sentences, the hymn My Jesus I Love Thee, a prayer and the declaration of intention.

Lindsey Londenquai, the first among numerous mourners offering tribute, danced to a rendition of the Josh Groban’s song, You Raise Me Up.

Her performance was followed by a duet – In Christ Alone – by Andrew Burton and Charmain Jack.

Burton, who had a close relationship with Marriott, told the congregation that they selected that particular song because it was being aired on the radio mere moments before Marriott’s life ended.

Merele Hanson, a member the Retired Nurses Association of Jamaica — of which Marriott was a part — recalled her as “a God-fearing woman”.

“Proverbs 31 verse 30 says ‘a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.’ We are gathered here this afternoon, to give thanks and praise to God for the life of our colleague, Joyce Marriott, a woman who feared the Lord,” remarked Hanson as she began her tribute.

She said the Retired Nurses special-interest group of the Nurses Association of Jamaica was formed in 1997 with Marriott being on board and passionate about it from inception.

“She took on the task of mothering the group. In her nursing career, she was known for not only caring for people, but also to care about people. She knew what it meant to talk-the-talk and walk-the-walk,” Hanson added as she reflected on the good times shared with the deceased.

“Oh how we looked forward to her puddings when we went to our annual outings, whether she was there or not,” she said before reciting Psalms 23:4, concluding her tribute.

Millicent Castle, a representative from the Spanish Town Hospital, where Marriott also served, followed with a tribute on behalf of nurses at that hospital.

“What a nurse she was. She displayed the highest level of professionalism and brought enthusiasm to everything she did,” she said of Marriot who retired from Spanish Town hospital some 22 years ago.

Castle said she met Marriott in 1970 and remembers her as an excellent team player. “Her caring spirit, friendliness and warmth knew no bounds. Her dignity and competence are just some of the qualities which singularly and collectively enabled her to carry out her nursing duties,” she said.

Marriott also served as a housemother at the Kingston School of Nursing for over a decade.

Representatives from various levels at the school gathered around Marriott’s urn as a collectively-written tribute was read.

They recalled Marriott as a dynamic, energetic woman who was “small in stature, but was a force to be reckoned with”. As a housemother, she always offered herself beyond the call of duty.

“In her latter years at the school, she not only acted as a resident nurse, but was a counsellor, an advocate, a plumber, a carpenter, an electrician and a cook”.

Marriott was remembered for “wiping the eyes of many”, “lifting those who were down” and sharing her knowledge of the fact that “many of life’s lessons are learnt in the school of affliction”.

She is survived by her daughter, Sandra Samuels-Reid, proprietor of the all-male salon and spa, Totally Male.