Sarah Newland-Martin, the late head of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), has been hailed as one who “gave with her soul”, even though abandoned at birth because of her severe disabilities that forced her to wear prosthetic legs.

Aubrey Newland, her brother, and David W Grant, her cousin, in a joint tribute on behalf of the family, said Newland-Martin was generous to a fault and the family had often begged her to stop giving and tend to herself.

Following is the text of their heartfelt tribute to Newland-Martin who died last Wednesday, aged 75:

Angels that walk among us, we know not how they are chosen, but by their deeds you can see them, they touch the lives of the haves and the have-nots with the same grace and vigour.

Sarah Newland-Martin was the granddaughter of David Lindo Harris Mears and Alice Green; daughter of Sarah and Aubrey Newland; wife of the late Dervent Martin; stepmother to John and Tracy, Andrea, Miekel and Leshan, with numerous cousins and countless friends and a world of admirers.

She was one of the most generous souls our family has ever known. It is generally known across the YMCA community that Sarah Newland-Martin was generous to a fault. She gave from her heart. She gave with her soul and she often never knew when or where to stop giving. Whenever she asked for help it was never for herself but always for someone else.

So when she was exhausted from the variety of demands on her, she would lean on her family for support. More often than not we would tell her to stop. Simply stop. We would point out to her that she could never meet the needs of everyone and it was important that she protected herself, her health, and her own interests. We would urge her to walk away from irrational demands.

However, it was central to her character that she elevated the interests of others over and above her own interests and she took great pleasure in doing so. It is widely known that Sarah was abandoned as a newborn, but luck and strength of character brought her through.

She was the beneficiary of the generosity of others and she never forgot that. That generosity moulded her character and, as such, she felt a profound duty to those in need and tremendous gratitude toward generous individuals who made a difference in the lives of others. Our Sarah believed in doing good without counting the cost.

Sarah loved music of all kinds, national and international, but there was a special place in her heart for ska and reggae. Every corner of her home was filled with music — Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, Gregory Isaacs, John Holt, Beres Hammond and, of course, Bob Marley. She also enjoyed movies; Ben Hur was one of her favourites as was the Ten Commandments. At Christmas she also watched all the Home Alone episodes.

Concomitant with her commitment to making this world a better place, Sarah was a devoted Christian who made God the centre of her life. She was a devoted member of her church. Regardless of where in the world she was, Sarah attended service at her church every Sunday morning. If she was home, she attended service in person, if she was abroad, she streamed the first service without regard to time.

Sarah was an avid Scrabble player who never liked to lose a game, whether it was friendly or competitive. She never thought of herself as being disabled but did almost everything like an able-bodied person. She even bought her house at the top of a hill, where she would have to climb steps to get to and fro.

Sarah liked to make fun of herself: “Why they think I’m handicap when nothing is wrong with my hand? They should say I’m footicap,” she would joke. She was also known for telling airport security asking her to remove her shoes to go through the X-ray machines: “I’ll do better than that, I’ll remove my entire leg!”

There are so many experiences that one can share about this lady. Sarah called from Jamaica to the United States to have food delivered to her friend at the university of New Britain. The power of an angel.