Hundreds pay tribute to a saintly life
A woman of faith and prayer - Jayne Wilson, who ran The Salvation Army's First Floor Program counselling service in Wollongong. (Photo by Shairon Paterson)
Civic, business, religious and community leaders joined 800 mourners at the funeral service of Envoy Jayne Wilson at Wollongong Salvation Army centre last month.
A soldier of Wollongong Corps, manager of its First Floor (addiction support) Program and a police chaplain, Jayne was Promoted to Glory on Christmas Day 2013.
She had endured a two-year battle with cancer and died suddenly while in hospital for tests. Jayne is survived by husband Vincent; mother, Mary; mother-in-law Betty; sister Fran; her children and their partners; 19 grandchildren and one great grandchild. She was 68.
Jayne had been involved with The Salvation Army at Wollongong for the past 17 years. She came with years of practical experience in the hospitality industry and after gaining a theology degree at the Church of Christ Wollongong college.
At first, she managed a bistro in the Wollongong Corps building and introduced and operated a hospitality training program for the unemployed.
Realising that significant numbers of the trainees had personal issues, including addictions, she started an addiction counselling service.
She extended the counselling service to include support programs for the children, partners, parents and grandparents of those caught in the addiction cycle. She further extended the service to assist police officers with personal issues, recently released prisoners and people with suicidal concerns.
Eight years ago, she was installed as a Salvation Army envoy and police chaplain for the Lake Illawarra Police Command.
Her programs have been introduced in several Sydney corps, Canberra and, recently, in Canada.
Tributes were paid to Jayne at her 2 January Celebration of Life Service by NSW Senior Police Chaplain Father Paul O’Donoghue, Lake Illawarra Local Area Police Command Superintendent Wayne Starling, First Floor Program assistant manager Marilyn Dunn, and Jayne’s daughter Kim McMullan and granddaughter Kristen de Souza.
Father O’Donoghue said Jayne was “a precious gift who touched our hearts and shared God’s divine nature with us.”
Supt Starling said Jayne was, to police, “a trusted friend (who inspired) the most hardened police officers to open up to her.”
Marilyn Dunn said Jayne was “a woman of faith and prayer ... a saint dedicated to her calling.” The service was led by Stephen Dunn, who has worked closely with Jayne and others in the First Floor Program for many years.
Uniformed police lined both sides of the street outside the Wollongong centre in a guard of honour as Jayne’s funeral procession passed, led by members of the Wollongong Corps band.
This article first appeared in the February edition of Pipeline.
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