Marcia Smikle, long-time partner of the late Jamaican music icon U-Roy, died in the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew yesterday. She was 65.

Her daughter, Susan Davis, confirmed her mom’s passing.

“She was having stomach pain for some time and the complications from that was the cause of death. Mi never expect her fi dead, because mi madda nuh old or show any signs like she did ah go dead soon,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer.

She said her mother’s unforgettable personality will live on.

“My mother was a good, strong woman who was loved by everyone. That is her legacy, and that is how I will remember her,” she said.

Smikle and U-Roy shared a relationship spanning 41 years.

U-Roy, whose given name is Ewart Beckford, died of diabetes and hypertension-related complications at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew on February 17. He was 79.

U-Roy remains one of dancehall’s most influential figures. He started his career in the 1960s on sound systems and hit the charts in the early 1970s as a toaster on popular hit songs like Wake The Town, Wear You to The Ball (alongside John Holt), and Tom Drunk (with Hopeton Lewis).

As founder of Stur Gav, he exposed aspiring talent including Josey Wales, Charlie Chaplin, Frankie Paul, Tenor Saw, and Early B.

He was interred in Dovecot Memorial Park and Crematory in St Catherine on May 19.

No final arrangements have been decided; however, currently, there is a ban on funerals until September 6.

In addition to her daughter Susan, Smikle is survived by her grandson Ryshawn.