Yvonne Lecky

Yvonne Agnes (Mowatt) Lecky was born in Kingston, Jamaica to James and Gladys Mowatt on June 24, 1931. She was the eldest of four children. Yvonne attended Holy Family Elementary School, the Convent of Mercy Alpha Academy High School where she attained University of Cambridge Certificates at the Senior and Higher School Levels. Additional studies were done at The Kingston Commercial College and St. Georges College Extension School.

After teaching at the Holy Family Catholic Elementary School in Kingston, Jamaica for a brief period, Yvonne joined the Jamaican Civil Service in the Secretariat Division. During this time, she met and married Errol George Lecky and subsequently had three children: a son and two daughters. By means of ability and diligence, she rose through the ranks of the Civil Service. Then following a Public Relations/Information Officers Training Course in England, she was appointed as an Information Officer of the Jamaica Information Service. Her last substantive post was Editor of the Handbook of Jamaica before migrating with her family to the United States on April 15, 1970. Her professional affiliations included the Alliance Française of Kingston, Jamaica and the Press Association of Jamaica.

Upon arrival in the United States, Yvonne worked as Secretary to the Personnel Manager of Dairylea Cooperative Association for a brief period, before deciding to devote time to care for her three children. During this period at home, she found time to attend Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York, graduating with an Associate of Applied Science, Secretarial Science Degree, Magna Cum Laude. Upon returning to the workforce, Yvonne was employed briefly at the Uneeda Doll Company and then more substantively at Chemical Bank in NYC. She retired in March of 1990 to help care for her family, including her grandchildren. For Yvonne, life was all about living and loving, of which her family was foremost. She made friends easily and kept them to the end. Beginning with her Church, she taught in the Sunday school at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston and was involved in several volunteer organizations including the Convent of Mercy Alpha Alumnae Association, the Sodality Cooperative Credit Union, and The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America in the United States. She was always giving back.

Yvonne departed this life on January 3, 2021 at the age of 89 at The Dr. Susan Smith-McKinney Nursing and Rehab Center. She leaves to cherish her memory: her husband Errol George (Bobby) Lecky; three children: Robert George Lecky of Ridgefield, NJ, Elizabeth Anne Lecky-Lynch of Bethlehem, PA, and Theresa Patricia Josephine (Lecky) O’Neal of Brooklyn, NY; her six grandchildren: Calvin O’Neal, Christian O’Neal, Alexander Lecky, Spencer Lecky, Annelisse Lynch and Sophia Lynch; and her only brother, Ivor James Mowatt of Toronto, Canada. In addition, she leaves daughter-in-law Robin (Hellgren) Lecky, son-in-law Jeffrey Lynch, and numerous family and friends to mourn her loss. She was preceded in death by her infant sister, Valerie Mowatt, her parents Gladys and James Mowatt, and her younger sister, Beverley (Mowatt) DeSouza.

Yvonne was a deeply spiritual person and a member of the Roman Catholic faith community, which brought her in touch with its traditions, wisdom, beauty of the past, and a deep love for her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. She left us a noble legacy of life lessons, values and mores to live by, and loving memories of her to be cherished forever. The faith she embraced assures us that her soul is at peace with the God whose steward she was. May her beautiful soul rest in eternal peace.