IT was a day that should have been celebrated with the opening of porcelain gifts — vases, fine dining sets, cookware, tea sets, jewellry boxes, etc. Instead, Christine Thompson will forever remember her 18th wedding anniversary as the day her husband Detective Sergeant Collin Garry Thompson died.

It was December 23, two days before Christmas, and no doubt she had been harbouring hopes that he would be discharged from hospital, which he had been visiting for treatment for the greater part of a year, for Christmas.

Tears that streamed down her face at the Church of the Open Bible in Twickenham Park, St Catherine, during the official funeral service he was accorded three weeks later — on Saturday January 11 was an indication of her pain. A tribute printed in the programme under the heading ‘From the heart of his wife’, put it into words.

“On December 23, 2013, the day of our 18th wedding anniversary, I said goodbye to my best friend, my partner, my lover, and my husband,” she said.

“It is hard to describe the void, the pain, and the emptiness that I feel,” she continued.

Christine described her husband, a 24-year veteran of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), as a gem, a real man, a strong man, a provider, and a hard worker who had genuine character, and who gave and loved unconditionally.

“We had a good life. We were very happy. We got baptised together, we flew on Air Jamaica together, and had champagne miles up in the sky, and we had our rock-bottom moments. I would do it all again,” she said in the tribute.

Thompson was assigned to the National Intelligence Bureau at the time of his passing.

He enlisted in the constabulary in May 1990, serving first under the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), then transitioning to the JCF after eight years.

His colleagues — including Sergeant Raymond Wilson, Superintendent Michael Scott, Assistant Commandant at the ISCF Christopher Murdock, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Derrick Cochrane, and Superintendent Cordel McFarlane-Clarke, who read the eulogy — called him the consummate law enforcement officer. They described him as disciplined, hard-working, and the standard to which they aimed.

Commissioner Owen Ellington, from whom there was a tribute printed in the funeral programme, said his passing had “cut short his contribution to the (force’s) collective effort in the fight against crime”, and urged members to strengthen their commitment to making Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business.

“We will remember you, Collin Thompson,” Ellington said.

Detective Sergeant Thompson was born in Jackson District, Sligoville, St Catherine, on June 6, 1968. He was the fourth of six children for his parents, Percival (aka Shaggy) and Gantelena (aka Ruby) Thompson, and the seventh of nine for his father.

All eight remaining siblings — Jennifer, Bryan, Timothy, Angella, Jacqueline, Courtney, Richard, and Charmaine — stood at the altar last week Saturday as Jacqueline, the third of the four girls, read the remembrance.

“Today is a really hard day for us, because I feel like I have lost my friend and my protector. My brother would always stand up for his family and he would always keep me safe, no matter what. He wasn’t selfish, he looked out for us, and we loved him more for it. He was a hard worker and was always optimistic, nothing was considered unattainable, and just about everything was classified as “simple ting, man,” she said to laughter from the congregation, which spilled out into the churchyard in spite of the large space.

She told the story of the time Thompson was driving through Bog Walk gorge when the gear stick of his first car — a Ford Cortina — became detached. “With gear stick in hand, Collin simply chuckled and said, ‘Angella look yah’, replaced the gear stick, and kept on driving,” she said, also to laughter.

“Collin was infectious. Once you met him, you never forgot him… (he) was a mischievous, fun-loving child who would get involved in all kinds of pranks. Of course, as children we found his tricks quite hilarious, but the adults did not always see

the funny side of things,” she continued.

The tribute went on to say that Thompson was a good policeman, a man of integrity, and a family man who was dependable, loyal and honest. She said, too, that he showed tremendous courage during his period of illness; never once complaining about the pain or discomfort nor questioning what had become his fate.

“Collin loved his family and had the capacity to not only find but also reunite our family members — he knew everybody and could easily tell who was missing. He was the life of our family reunions and it was easy to tell when he was losing at the domino table… that was the only time he was quiet,” Jacqueline continued.

Written tributes from Angella and Mark referenced similar qualities of their brother.

Angella described him as loving sociable, and the “life of the party”, while Mark called him “the face of the brothers”.

“…A part of us died on December 23, but we know a part of him lives on in us,” Mark said. “He may no longer be the face of his brothers, but remains the spirit of the family.”

There were also tributes from Bethlehem Temple Evangelical Church of Christ, which Thompson attended, and Longville Park, where he lived.

Thompson attended Top Jackson All-Age School where he was on both the track & field and cricket teams. Upon graduation he tried his hand at different vocations, including tailoring and construction. He obtained credentials as a para-professional counsellor from Jamaica Open Bible Institute and participated in a number of local and overseas training courses in the JCF.

He passed away exactly one year, two months and 13 days after his mother.