Northern Ireland

Celebration in Jamaica for Co Down missionary who gave ‘lifetime of service’ to island

Rostrevor Presbyterian missionary remained in her adopted Caribbean home after more than 35 years of work

Co Down-born Presbyterian Church of Ireland missionary Claire Trueman, who died in Jamaica last month.
Co Down-born Presbyterian Church of Ireland missionary Claire Trueman, who died in Jamaica last month.
By Paul Ainsworth

The life and work of a missionary from Co Down who gave a “lifetime of service” to Jamaica has been celebrated in the Caribbean country following her death.

Claire Trueman, from Rostrevor, arrived in Jamaica at the age of 24 in 1962, to work as a missionary for the Presbyterian Church in Ireland.

She made the journey on a steamship from Southampton in the same year the island gained its independence from Britain.

The young teacher worked alongside colleagues in what eventually became the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and retired in 1998.

Rather than return to Ireland like most mission workers following their service, she decided to remain in Jamaica, retiring in the city of Mandeville where she remained active in church life.

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Claire Trueman retired from missionary work in 1998, but remained in Jamaica, staying active in church life.
Claire Trueman retired from missionary work in 1998, but remained in Jamaica, staying active in church life.

One of the longest serving Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI) overseas missionaries, Claire also worked on a memoir of her career in Jamaica, titled Wonderful Years, which was published in 2022.

In the book, she wrote: “From the moment that I set foot on Jamaican soil, I knew I was at home.”

She died on June 21 at the age of 86.

On Tuesday, a thanksgiving service for Claire was held at the Ridgemount United Church in Mandeville.

Rev Uel Marrs said: “This is a tremendously symbolic occasion, and a wonderful testimony to the impact of Claire’s life and ministry, to the love and esteem in which she was held, to the fellowship and sense of belonging that she enjoyed with her ‘Jamaican family’ and the valued and the historic missional relationship between Presbyterians in Ireland and in Jamaica.”

Claire Trueman's memoir, Wonderful Years, was published in 2022.
Claire Trueman's memoir, Wonderful Years, was published in 2022.

He continued: “During her time on the island, she served faithfully, and it was a lifetime of service to Jamaica, and the island’s children, young people and adults, who she served for over nearly four decades of ministry.”

Rev Marrs said that on behalf of the PCI’s Council for Global Mission “it was an honour to be able to pass on our sincere condolences to those who knew her as she will be missed by many people in Jamaica and her other island home”.