MONTEGO BAY, St James — Though the loss of his “super mom”, Delcine Clarke-Grant, has left Ron Muschette heartbroken, the radio broadcaster is determined to keep her memory alive by paying homage to the woman he said has touched the lives of many people across western Jamaica.

Clarke-Grant, affectionately called Miss Patsy, passed away on May 21 at Falmouth Hospital just four days after celebrating her 82nd birthday. She had reportedly been ill since 2018 after experiencing a major stroke, which left her bedridden.

Reminiscing on his mother’s life, the broadcaster told the Jamaica Observer that he is grateful to not have only shared very fond memories with Miss Pasty, but to have “been there with her until the very end”.

“She was the star dressmaker in Whitehouse, [Westmoreland] while I was growing up. People would bring magazines to show mama what they want out of it and she would make it for them. When it was back-to-school time, children and parents would line up…every minute dem and mama inna argument ’bout uniform,” said an obviously proud Muschette.

“I was basically with her up until the last moment because she lived with me in Montego Bay. What I tried to do was, even though I had two caregivers staying with her, I would still go back to Montego Bay every day after my radio show to just make sure that she is good. I would drive to Kingston every morning at 3:00 am and drive back after my show,” explained Muschette, host of The Ron Muschette Morning Show on The Edge 105 FM, a member of the Jamaica Observer Media Group.

Describing his mother as his “everything” and “the woman who made me”, Muschette told the Observer that Clarke-Grant’s ambition and love for her children were both admirable and inspiring.

“My earliest memory is just of how hard-working she was. She was always finding a way because my sister and I never really had a father figure until she got married to my stepfather, so she tried everything to make sure that all of us got a good education. She had always believed in me and she wanted me to just keep going. She loved all of her children dearly,” Muschette said, adding that his mother had seven children.

“When I was about nine years old, she sent me to Montego Bay to live with my brother. That is how I actually grew up and attended school in MoBay. She would just do whatever it took to get the best for her children. Everybody always say that their mother is the best mother in the world, but to me, she was that mother,” he proudly said, adding that his mother was a devoted Christian.

Clarke-Grant’s children weren’t the only ones that adored her, Muschette noted.

“She was a favourite among the schoolchildren in the [Whitehouse] area because we lived close to the schools. She was very popular in the area, so her death kind of heartbreaking for the people there because they really love her,” said the broadcaster.

“As a grandmother, she was just as nice. She had 11 grandchildren… some of them grew up with her, but she loved all of them equally,” he said.

Miss Patsy, Muschette told the Observer, “was a fighter”. Before suffering from two major strokes, she was involved in a motor vehicle crash. A story she shared with her children as they grew older.

“Just a little bit before I was born, my mom was in a very bad motor vehicle accident. Two people who were in the vehicle died and my mom was badly injured, so they just threw her by the side of the road and said ‘Da one ya dead, man’. My mother said she cried out, ‘No, mi nuh dead’. She was truly a fighter,” he said.

While Muschette will certainly miss the times he shared with his mother, the broadcaster is comforted by the fact that Clarke-Grant knew that she was loved and appreciated by her family.

“I would take her for a drive every now and again; we kept her moving even though she could no longer walk. I would take her on nice trips, I also made sure that she knew what it felt like to fly on an aeroplane before she got sick. I just love her and I do so openly,” Muschette told the Observer.

Now, as he attempts to pick up the pieces, the grieving son has credited his village for their assistance in not only taking care of his mother, but providing emotional support.

“I have to big up my aunty Dawn because she was the best of my mother’s siblings who came around and really helped with my mother. Aunty Dawn helped me to take care of my mom up until her last day,” Muschette said. “I am also grateful to uncle Roy, uncle Terry and uncle Sir who checked in on her regularly.”

“I have to also big up the Observer family; Natalie Chin, Maureen and others, Mrs Muschette from Royal Pharmacy, and all of her caregivers including my cousin Pauline Forbes,” Muschette said.

The broadcaster added, “Mi wah big up my friend Prime Time too because he followed me to the hospital every day. He has really been a good soldier.”