WHILE a limit was placed on the number of people attending the thanksgiving service for Karen Smith, none was placed on love and appreciation shown to the singer who touched many lives throughout her career.

The service was held at St James Parish Church in Montego Bay on Wednesday.

Her daughter, Courtni, whose father is veteran bass guitarist Jackie Jackson, said while the loss of her mother is devastating, she will always be around in spirit.

“I feel heartbroken and I feel like my heart will never be mended. That’s how I feel at the moment,” Courtni Jackson told the Jamaica Observer, adding: “I know all of Jamaica is saddened by all of this, but you know what brings me comfort, my family members and friends, is that she is with us when we need her.”

A singer and student at the Edna Manley College of the Visual Arts in Kingston, Courtni said her mother will always be part of her career.

Archdeacon Justin Nembhard, rector for the St James Parish Church where Smith was a member for more than 30 years, described her as a woman of faith and prayer.

“Karen is a woman of great faith and she believes sincerely in God’s providential care and she prayed towards that end for healing and restoration as we all do but given the limitation of human beings, of course, when illnesses are upon us, we don’t make it all the time. But it does not mean that God hasn’t cared,” he said.

Smith’s mother, Barbara Smith, a former principal of Montego Bay High School, is the church’s organist. She said her daughter had been integral to the church.

“Apart from her singing ability which is well-known so far and wide, she contributed tremendously to the welfare of the church. Fund-raising events, social events and it was not confined to anyone’s pleasure but she was all over upon invitation,” she said.

The occasion also saw video messages from Olivia “Babsy” Grange, minister of culture, gender, entertainment and sports; Mayor of Montego Bay Leeroy Williams; and former Prime Minister PJ Patterson.

At the beginning of the service, there were musical tributes from Dean Fraser, Gem Myers, Dwight Richards, and Dimario McDowell.

Smith, 61, died on September 11 after a one-year battle with colon cancer.

Jamaica first got a taste of her charm in the early 1980s when she paired with singer/keyboardist Mallory Williams for a television advertisement.

Smith was best known for renditions of Wide Awake In A Dream and Oh Me Oh My. In recent years, she was a member of Package, along with Myers and P’Tricia Edwards.

A former president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians and Affiliates Union, Smith was conferred with the Order of Distinction in 2006 by the Government of Jamaica for her contribution to the music industry.