Described as a gentle giant who touched the lives of those who crossed her path, teenager J'Quani Cassanova Chung was laid to rest during the service of thanksgiving held at the Holy Cross Moravian Church in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, on Wednesday.
J'Quani came to national attention after she was diagnosed with leukemia in December 2017, while a student of the Santa Cruz Primary and Junior High School. Her cancer was in remission for two years after chemotherapy, but in May 2020, the cancer reappeared. She received assistance from several sectors of the society including her high school, Hampton School, the Jamaican government and various donors. Things were looking positive as she received a bone marrow transplant in India. But the 15-year-old died of kidney failure on December 6.
Justine Chung, in recalling the time spent with her little sister said, "My sister was a gentle giant and an angel, and today we lay to rest the strongest person I have ever known, she was a gift to the family," she said.
Guidance counsellor at Hampton, Shellion Rowe-Morgan, representing the Munro Hampton Alumni Association - Washington DC chapter, said J'Quani had a brave and courageous spirit that easily captured the hearts of everyone.
"Her time with us was short, but her impact will last a lifetime," Rowe-Morgan said. She called J'Quani a fighter who had a consistent drive to overcome the odds.
"She has left an imprint on our lives that we will forever hold close, her time," she said.
J'Quani's positive influence was so tangible that scores of persons from all over the island converged on the church to pay their respects. While attending primary school, she was forced to sit her Grade Six Achievement Test from her hospital bed, where she was admitted after she was diagnosed with leukaemia. J'Quani had hopes of becoming a hematologist oncologist paediatrician where she could help children overcome blood cancer.
Her body was buried in the Mount Hermon Church Cemetery in Santa Cruz.
