Sislin Monica Campbell-May was born on December 8th, 1925, in Bangor Ridge the parish of Portland Jamaica, West Indies; to Doris McFarlane and William Dyce.
She had seventeen brothers and sisters (siblings) and attended Bangor Ridge Primary school.
Beginning in her earlier years Sislin was always looking for ways to better herself, at the age of twenty she received a telegram from her uncle Daniel McFarlane (Uncle Arnold) to join him in Kingston to help him manage his grocery store. While working with her uncle, she got an opportunity to work with the Jamaica bus company. She worked there for a couple of years and decided to go back to school to pursue her passion of sewing and design. Sislin was a fashionista, “in every sense of the word” (FASHION WAS HER PASSION). She mastered the art of sewing, beading and embroidery. She had a large clientele, among her many clients were the wives of the soldiers at UP PARK CAMP in Jamaica.
In 1953 Sislin met the love of her life Leonard Roy Campbell they were married July 3rd, 1954 and together they had four children. Sislin migrated to the United States in 1967 in pursuit of a better life for herself and family. In doing so, she chose a career in the healthcare field and studied to become a nursing assistant; she worked at Lyden Nursing Home where she cared for the sick and elderly for 15 years and retired in 1989.
Sislin loved to have a good time listening to music and dancing, she also loved to entertain every chance she got. Her sons always had parties in the basement of our home in Brooklyn, New York “mom was the head cook and bottle washer”; she did all the cooking and baking for all the parties. She was an avid fan of baseball and basketball her teams were NEW YORK YANKEES and MIAMI HEATS. She was an excellent domino player. Gardening and crossword puzzles was some of her favorite pastime. Sislin loved to travel, some of the countries that she visited was Israel, Hawaii, Panama, Mexico and Europe.
In 1989 she relocated to Florida to live out her golden years. With nothing but time on her hands, Sislin continued to sew and developed another large client base in Florida. She was a member of the local senior center where she learned how to crochet and various arts and crafts. She became an active member of the Ascension Peace Presbyterian Church and loved to worship with them on Sundays.
Sislin was the queen of colloquialism:
“The cow never knew the use of his tail until he loses it”
“What cost nothing brings good measure”
“When the cock puts on his draws”
“When Jesus wore short pants”
The phenomenal woman she was with such grace and class. When she smiled it lit up the room.
We Thank the Lord for Blessing us with her presence for 94yrs. On 02/02/2020 Sislin went home to be with the lord.
She is survived by her sons-Alfred (Austin), Trevor, Garfield (Tony), daughter-Andrea, 18 grandchildren, 9 great grandchildren, sisters, brothers, nieces, nephews and a host of other families and friends.
