“JANETT was a legend, she was a giant, she was a giver, she was a teacher,” was how Claude Sinclair, Janett Sinclair’s younger brother opened his tribute to his sister.

“She was a woman dedicated to everybody. She was like no other before her and she committed her life to those who needed her. I especially admired her love for her children, but not just hers; for other children as well,” Claude recalled, as he addressed scores of mourners who had gathered at the St Matthew’s Anglican Church in downtown Kingston to pay their final respects to journalist Janett Sinclair at a thanksgiving service last Saturday.

Janett Sinclair was made popular by her weekly advice column in the Star, ‘Advice to the Lovelorn’.

Prior to her debut in journalism, Sinclair also served in the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) as a constable. But Sinclair’s contribution to the Jamaican society was not limited to literary. Sinclair conceptualised the Miss Jamaica Teenager Contest, now known as the Miss Teen Jamaica Contest, Mini Miss Jamaica and Miss Jamaica Grandmother Contests during the 1980s.

These contests were considered the first of their kind in the western hemisphere, focussing on education, personal development and entertainment. News of the 63-year-old’s death was met with mourning for those who knew and loved her. This was reflected in the overwhelming support that her family received.

Sinclair’s surviving children, in their individual tributes, encouraged celebration of the rich history their mother had left behind, but letting go proved difficult, especially for them, as the casket was carried to the hearse. Following the thanksgiving service Sinclair’s body was taken for preparation which would precede the cremation on Tuesday.