Obituary
The Life of the Late GirldeenAmanda Jackson
Girldeen Amanda Jackson
The Life of the Late Girldeen Amanda Jackson
Read by her nephew, the Hon. Kurt Tibbets
Girldeen Amanda Jackson, (nee Pouchie) wasborn at Watering Place in Cayman Brac on 15th September , 1907.She was the third and last child born to Whitecross and AmandaPouchie.
In those days, life's opportunities werefew for females and getting an education was not high on the listof priorities, and although she went to school, it was only tolearn the basics. Most of her time growing up was spent helpingthe family make two ends meet.
Her father died when she was teenager, andher mother remarried and she was soon with younger siblings, inaddition to her two older brothers, Varis and Virbet. Of course,it was only natural that she became very close to her youngerbrothers and sisters, Denniston, Lennie, Halon, Tiny Mae, Lillyand Selma. In short order, she was mentor and second mother tothe younger ones. The family was certainly from the humblest ofbeginnings, but even though life was a struggle, their love andcare for each other still brought happiness. During this timeher mothers' second husband also passed away when the last childSelma was just a baby, so her mother once again a widow with afamily to raise, but everyone chipped in and they got by.
On 27th May, 1929 Girldeen was united inmarriage to Hildriff Garlon Jackson of the Creek, better knownas Dickie. The two set about making a family of their own, butin the meantime she still remained very close and continued tohelp out whenever she could with her younger brothers and sisters.Indeed, she was a good person.
The marriage produced five children, Sybil,Rena, Sammy, Garlon and Betty Rose. But on 12th October, 1941,tragedy struck and while Betty Rose was still a baby in arms,you would have to say, Dickie passed away leaving Girldeen withtheir five young children to raise. She had witnessed her motherlive through it twice but rather than becoming bitter, it onlymade her more resilient and she was determined to struggle on.
Thinking back about it now, she really wasmade from good stuff. The struggles were constant, but her resolveonly got stronger. In those days, life was a little different,and as each one got a little older they didn't desert the family.Rather, they all chipped in to make sure the younger ones gotto the point where they could fend for themselves. Perhaps that'swhat helped us to become so industrious. Perhaps that's why wehave made our mark everywhere we have gone and perhaps that iswhy Cayman Brackers are so fiercely independent.
So for many years she was mother to manyof us, and as each generation came along, wherever and whenevershe was needed, she was quite willing to fill the gap. She wasa second mother to her younger siblings, to her own children,to her nieces and nephews, to her grandchildren and it extendedeven tot her great grandchildren.
Four generations of a family and she had a hand in every onessuccess story. A remarkable person in her own quiet way.
I grew up calling here TATA, because that'swhat our mother, who was her youngest sister, called her. On manyoccasions she came to stay with us and take charge if our motherwas sick or had to go away. That was our TATA.
The Grandchildren and great grandchildrencalled her Granny Girldeen, and she would speak with beaming pridewhenever she got the opportunity to boast of their individualsuccesses.
TATA loved here garden and in her lateryear while she still enjoyed good health, she spent many hourstending her exotic plants. She exchanged plant cuttings with herfriends and for years she was at the center of a network gatheringand nurturing new species. I can see her now resting a spell inher hammock waiting to go back to tending the plants. She usedto plague Garlon until he would finally give in and drive to SouthSide with some empty buckets to get some of that white beach sandto make the garden white and pretty. That way she could keep itspotless clean with the rake.
After everyone had moved away on their own,TATA would take turns visiting the various families for shortspells, and she kept in contact with everyone. By 1986 Garlonhad moved back to the Brac and he stayed with her until 1992;but by then she was all of 84 and it was obvious that she wasgetting to the point where she needed someone to assist with herdaily needs. The family decided to take her to Grand Cayman, whereshe stayed with her youngest daughter Betty Rose and her husbandLloyd for the next two years. Her health was slowly deterioratingand soon she needed full time care. Sammy and Gay than took herto say with them, and a full time caretaker was employed. Minervacame to live with them then, lovingly caring for the great ladywho was slowly fading. She remained there taking care of our Tatauntil the end. We thank her for her patience and her love.
Girldeen Amanda Jackson fulfilled all ofher earthly tasks and more. She touched the lives of many in amultitude of ways. She leaves a legacy of several generations.Her love for all of us was forever manifested in her actions,and we will always be amazed at how one person could have so muchwill, determination and strength of character. We in turn willalways love her for have so much give in her.
The body finally became tired after 93 years4 months and 6 days and left us on the night of January 21, butthe spirit lives on in all of us whose lives she touched.
Preceding her in death were: Parents-Amandaand Whitecross Pouchie, husband- Dickie Jackson, brothers -Varis,Vibert, Denniston, Lennie and Halon, sisters- Selma and Tiny,Grandson-Teddy and Eric.
Left with never ending memories are herdaughters: Sybil Ford, Rena Reid, Betty Rose Scott, sons Sammyand Garlon, sons-in-law Arlen Reid and Lloyd Scott, daughters-in-lawGay and Mona, sistes Mae and Lilly, brothers-in-law Bertie Tibbetts,Orren Jackson and Henry Ackermon, grandchildren Melgreen, Dalmain,Cheryl, Debbie, Cleavy, Mitchell, Carmelita; Great grandchildrenGeorge, Jessie, Cody, Karmeal, Sabrina, Alexandria, James, Renee,Jamies, Kira, Gareth, Giselle, Nisa, Juan, Kadie, Erin, Rico Teddy,Brian, Hansel, Jason, Joshua, Jordan, Tosh, Shane and Mitchell,nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews, cousins and many otherrelatives and friends.
We will miss her but we are satisfied, andwe thank God. Her Soul has found eternal peace.