BY RACQUEL PORTER From Jamaica Observer

MAXINE Simpson was eagerly looking forward to June 17 when she would have celebrated her 53rd birthday.Instead, Simpson’s family is now making funeral arrangements for the 52-year-old social worker who was killed, execution style, outside the Caribbean Palm Community Centre on Spanish Town Road in Kingston Sunday night.

Simpson, who served as secretary for the Greenwich Town Division in Kingston, was at a meeting with People’s National Party Councillor for the division, Karl Blake, when tragedy struck. Blake was shot and injured when armed men surprised them and opened fire.

Yesterday, one of Simpson’s relatives who spoke on condition of anonymity, said she was anticipating her birthday celebration.

The relative, who said the social worker was jovial and helpful, wondered why her life was cut short.

“She was so good, so quiet. Mi never know say a shot she get. Mi think a sick she sick and dead [when I heard first],” the relative said, trying to fight back tears.

“She don’t deserve that kind of death. I don’t know what she could a do dem fi dem do her like that. You can hide from man but you can’t hide from God,” the distraught relative said, adding that Simpson’s death was shocking.

A resident, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Simpson was a matriarch in the community of Greenwich Town where she had been working on community projects since 2000.

“She was always helping, always giving people a second chance. She was always seeking upliftment for the community. There were certain projects that she stood behind. The Jamaica Social Investment Fund skills programme was one of them where you get an opportunity to go back to school to get a skill so that you will be able to fit in. She was always behind stuff like those,” the resident said.

“All the years of fighting crime and violence and look what happened to her,” the resident bemoaned. She said they last spoke two weeks ago.

Maxine’s older sister, Datsy Simpson, who became her guardian after their mother passed away, told the Jamaica Observer that she could rely on Maxine for just about everything.

“I call her every evening. Yesterday I called her and she said she was going to a meeting, so when she come back from the meeting she will call me,” said Datsy. But little did she know that it would have been their last conversation.

She said she was subsequently informed of the incident by relatives overseas who had gotten the sad news before her.

“My daughter-in-law called me from Cayman and said, ‘What happened to Maxine?’ I said I don’t know what happen to Maxine. My son called me from Cayman now and said ‘Mommy, Mommy Maxine dead’ and mi say nobody no call mi and I am right here,” Datsy said. He said maybe she was not informed immediately because family members knew she was not well. “I don’t know if I walk, run or what, but I reach down there (death scene), and when I reached there the police said they were not going to let me in,” Datsy said.

The deceased’s husband, who gave his name as Junior, said he was at work when he got the call about his wife’s death.

“I haven’t slept since last night. I am sad. I am so frustrated. I can’t come to my sense that she is dead. Everybody love her, I can’t believe it,” Junior said

IMAGE: An undated photo of Maxine Simpson, who was shot dead Sunday night.

For more on this story go to: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/a-funeral-instead-of-a-birthday-celebration-for-maxine-simpson_101063?profile=1373