Child rights advocate and founder of Hear the Children’s Cry Betty Ann Blaine, who died in May after a second bout with cancer, to her final moments remained a gladiator for the less fortunate. Despite a weakened body, she answered every phone call for help, using her voice to the last to open doors for others.

“In your final months, you still paid attention to boys’ and girls’ Champs, you followed local and international politics, and above all, you helped others. You still gave radio interviews. I could still hear you talking to people, helping to sort out their bills, pay their children’s school fees, or for who you would find a computer,” Blaine’s second daughter, Dr Tarika Barrett, said in eulogising her mother who she described as “the trailblazer of the family”.

Speaking during a thanksgiving service for Blaine at the Boulevard Baptist Church in St Andrew on Thursday, Barrett, in keeping with her mother’s wishes not to have a traditional eulogy, said their childhood was stamped with memories of a woman who was a “beacon of hope and a relentless champion for the welfare of children and families in Jamaica”.

In recalling her mother’s countless acts of charity, even while she balanced raising a family, she said, “We shared you with many, many others…thank you, mom, for being an angel among us.

“Who knew that a little girl from Harbour View would go on to do so much, changing the world, one child at a time, and you deeply loved your God…your faith was your North Star,” she said.

Blaine, who was the founder of two national organisations which provide urgently needed support for inner-city children, adolescents, and their families — Youth Opportunities Unlimited founded in 1992 and Hear The Children’s Cry (2002) — passed away on May 13 in Georgia, United States, after a long period of illness. She was 75 years old.

Thursday, the patriotic Jamaican — her remains in a delicate lavender urn ensconced in a flowery bower of lilies, roses, and ferns and flanked by four life-sized portraits of her with her signature radiant smile — was eulogised in a steady stream of tributes from friends and family members alike.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in a tribute read by a representative, described Blaine as “legendary”. Holness said her life and 30 years of service during which she founded several civil and advocacy organisations “was a testament to the power of life and love”.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding, in a tribute which was also read on his behalf, said the country “has lost a true patriot and a champion for all” who, even during her illness, continued her advocacy for the less fortunate from abroad, “tirelessly embodying the true spirit of dedication and resilience”.

Laurette Adams Thomas, CEO of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), in paying homage to Blaine, said her “tireless efforts in child protection have left an indelible mark on the nation”.

“Miss Blaine’s passing is a significant loss to the child protection movement. Her passion, her dedication, and tireless advocacy, these are truly inspiring to us all,” she said.

Celta Kirkland, director of Hear the Children’s Cry, said the entity was synonymous with its founder.

“Betty Ann Blaine literally heard the cries of children from the moment she woke until she laid her head to sleep,” she shared.

Kirkland, in describing Blaine as a “brilliant academic, who chose to be a beggar on behalf of children”, recalled that when she retired to Jamaica after 40 years overseas, “intending to do nothing”, she met Blaine, whose passion, dedication, and active advocacy for Jamaican children “was impossible to ignore”, causing her to change course.

“Most people knew her as a public speaker, expressing herself eloquently, passionately, and unapologetically about the plight of our children…[but] the public did not know the Betty Ann who would cry after receiving news of another child being abused, missing, or experiencing atrocities; Betty was the engine of Hear the Children’s Cry, which often ran on empty because of lack of financial support,” she stated.

The Excelsior Past Students’ Association, in a tribute read by current President Evan Thompson, said Blaine, while a student at the institution in the 60s, was a brilliant thinker who stood head and shoulders above many of her peers.

“She was known to be a standout during her tenure…she was not known to have a particularly outgoing personality but rather to quietly go about doing what any brilliant student would do — she was a worker and a thinker,” he said of the woman who was the one to engineer the resuscitation of the past students’ association in the 1980s.

An emotional Kaleb Reid, Blaine’s grandson, in reflecting on her efforts to learn to walk again after her second bout with cancer, said her indomitable spirit and her “ability to take things in stride and continue with the task ahead” served as one of many outstanding life lessons that will remain with him.

Blaine’s daughter, Monifa Barrett, in a poignant tribute, said her mother’s passing had left “a hole in [her] heart and a void which nothing or no one could ever fill”.

“You loved people, you loved life, and you loved God, you walked the walk, spoke up against injustice with eloquence and passion and were a beacon of hope for the disenfranchised. You faced your journey with cancer head on, with grace, courage, and the resilience which earned you the title, ‘voice for the voiceless’,” she said tremulously.

Friend of over 60 years, Carol Taylor, reminiscing on her ally who she described as “humble and passionate”, said Blaine was “without doubt one of Jamaica’s national treasures” who poured herself into advocacy without seeking praise or recognition.

When for one brief moment Blaine’s memorable voice which was part of a video tribute floated through the air, the congregation’s sombre mood gave way to chuckles at excerpts in which Blaine told of her journey.

“I grew up at 26 Chisholm Avenue off Waltham Park Road, lived in a tenement yard. A lot of people don’t know that. They think I am an uptown browning,” she said.

And as the balmy morning surrendered to a torrential afternoon downpour, Bishop Delford Davis, in a rallying sermon, implored Jamaicans and agencies to pick up where Blaine left off in protecting and advocating for disadvantaged children.

In declaring that Blaine was “not an ordinary Jamaican” but was “exceptional in many ways”, Davis said, “She became hands, feet, and voice for those who would never be heard; she heard the children’s cry… the children are still crying, who will hear their cry?”