Sonia Elaine Peterkin

Today we gather to honor, remember, and say goodbye to our dear beloved, Sonia Elaine Peterkin. Taking the words of a famous writer: “We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.” If that is true, then Sonia had a great life. She was the most generous and loyal person I have ever known.

Sonia was born, Sonia Elaine Jackson, on December 27, 1964, in Grange, in the parish of Hanover, Jamaica WI. She was the second child of six children for her mother, Abigail Anderson.

Sonia Peterkin attended the Green Island High School in the parish of Hanover. In her early years, she worked in the Hotel Industry in Negril, receiving awards and achieving remarkable success. She was an entrepreneur, owning her own small business. She later pursued a career in the medical industry, as a Home Health Aide, to name few of her place of employment, she worked at the Negril Health Center in Jamaica, Red Cross in Canada, and finally, Linden Assistant Living in California, where she was named employee of the year for 2022, after being employee of the month several times.

Sonia Peterkin met her husband in 1984, this encounter was a remarkable coincidence. She worked at Charela Inn hotel in Negril, and at night operated a Bar in her hometown, Grange district. It was at this Bar that she met Martin Peterkin (Ricky), he was traveling with his brothers, and stopped for a drink, he was immediately captivated by this beautiful lady. During their discussion, he learnt that she worked at the same hotel as his younger sister, Chekeita. This was his opportunity to get in a good word on his behalf. He asked his sister to put in a word for him with Sonia, which she did without hesitation as Sonia and her had already developed a close friendship. Sonia and Ricky began dating, they welcomed their first child, son, Clyde Peterkin. They solidified their love and were married on December 26, 1986. They decided to extend their family and welcomed three lovely daughters, Cladene, Kaydia and Kara.

Sonia Peterkin became grandmother to three adorable children, Krysten (10), Madison (9) and Joshua (7). She loved her children and showered her grandchildren with the same love and devotion.

I asked family and friends to tell me what they remember most about Sonia. There are so many good memories, here is just a few….

Chekeita (her sister-in-law and close friend), remembered her as encouraging, always motivating her to aim high and never give up on her dreams, a person who will listen and provide a welcoming arm (even from a distance). She loved and cared deeply for her husband, children, grandchildren, and her family members, especially her mother.

Her friends quote her as being loving, caring, extremely loyal, an excellent mother, a devoted wife, an industrious woman, and most of all a person who loved family and was always ready to give a helping hand.

Sonia was an extraordinary woman. She was a person of great integrity, full of principles and compassion. She was a woman of God. Even in her darkest moments she would always say that she is ok, it was always a teachable moment when you have a conversation with her, you are left feeling educated. We are all going to miss her deeply.

Sonia Peterkin is survived by her mother, Abigail Anderson, husband, Martin Peterkin (affectionately called Ricky), Son, Clyde Peterkin, daughters, Cladene Peterkin O’Sullivan, Kaydia and Kara Peterkin, grandchildren Krysten and Joshua O’Sullivan, Madison Mairs, son-in-law, Michael O’Sullivan, brother, Dahlian Anderson, sisters, Pearline and Shirlene Jackson, Jennifer and Kayla Saunders, nieces and nephews, her sisters and brothers in-laws, and friends who have become family.

I leave you with this poem, from an anonymous source:

Until We Meet Again

Each morning when we awake

we know that you are gone.

And no one knows the heartache

As we try to carry on.

Our hearts still ache with sadness

and many tears still flow.

What it meant to lose you,

No one will ever know.

Our thoughts are always with you,

your place no one can fill.

In life we loved you dearly,

In death we love you still.

There will always be a heartache,

and often a silent tear,

But always a precious memory

Of the days when you were here.

If tears could make a staircase,

And heartaches make a lane,

We’d walk the path to heaven

And bring you home again.

We hold you close within our hearts,

And there you will remain,

To walk with us throughout our lives

Until we meet again.

Our family chain is broken now,

And nothing will be the same,

But as God calls us one by one,

The chain will link again.