Dorrel McLeod, 85, Of Linstead, St Catherine
March 25, 2022All good things must come to an end. And so did the earthly sojourn of a phenomenal woman, who had woven her existence into the commercial fabric of Linstead, St Catherine.
Dorrel Louise McLeod, née Clarke, (Mrs Mc), 85, passed away peacefully 8 March 2022 at her home in Linstead.
Born 26 January 1937, Mrs Mc was the first child from the union between Dudley and Leteria Clarke. She had six siblings.
She grew up at Peckham district in Clarendon, and attended Tweeedside Primary School in that southern parish.
In search of employment, Mrs Mc moved to Kingston. There, she found a job as a store clerk. She also found the love of her life, Lambert McLeod, who became her husband 6 December 1960 and the father of her six children.
The couple’s journey took them from Kingston to Linstead.
Mrs Mc became manager at Shoe Fair store while her husband was hired to manage Bata Shoes, both located on King Street, Linstead. At that time, Bata was beside Dixon’s Drug Store and Shoe Fair was across the road from it.
The owners of those stores later merged their operations and moved into a bigger space elsewhere in Linstead town.
Their movement created an opportunity, which Mrs Mc and her husband grasped with both hands. They became the new occupants of the space that Bata had occupied at 52 King Street beside Dixon’s Drug Store. There, they opened their own business – Little Shoppe – in 1980.
Decades later, the couple relocated their operation to 22 King Street, Linstead, becoming one of the first tenants of Sam’s Mall, where KFC is currently located.
Death, unfortunately, intervened.
Losing her husband in 2007 was never easy for Mrs Mc, but she mustered the courage and continued in business.
On the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic in Jamaica in 2020, however, Mrs Mc pulled the shutters down on Little Shoppe, ending her incredible chapter in commerce.
Her life was not always about dollars and cents. She clothed, fed, schooled and otherwise cared for several children and families in and around Linstead.
Mrs Mc loved dogs and enjoyed cooking especially Escoveitched fish and Christmas ham.
A Christian, she, along with her family, worshiped at Linstead Methodist Church.
She is survived by her six children – Ms Lorna McLeod, Dr. Carole Mitchell, Dr. Sandra McLeod, Dr. Sonia Wisdom, Mrs Deonne Richards, and David McLeod; 13 grandchildren; three great-grand children; three sisters; other relatives and friends.
A thanksgiving service in honour of Mrs Mc will take place 5 April 2022, at 11AM, at Linstead Methodist Church, followed by interment beside her husband at Commodore Cemetery, Linstead. Mrs Mc is missed, sorely.
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