Francine Jackson, the Cayman Islands’ only living national hero and a pioneering advocate whose campaign helped secure voting and political rights for women, has died at the age of 97.
Jackson died suddenly on Sunday, July 5, her daughter, Joy Basdeo, confirmed. Although she had a heart condition, Basdeo said her mother remained active and engaged in community life until her final days.
Premier André Ebanks led tributes to Jackson, describing her as a devoted public servant whose legacy transformed the Cayman Islands. He ordered flags on all public buildings to be flown at half-staff for three days in her honor.
Jackson was named a national hero in 2025 in recognition of decades of public service and her pivotal role in advancing women’s political rights.
She was among the women who spearheaded the campaign for women’s suffrage in the Cayman Islands. In 1948, she joined a group of women from George Town who petitioned for women to be granted the right to vote, though the request was denied.
Undeterred, Jackson joined three women from Bodden Town in submitting another petition in 1957 calling for women to be allowed to vote and seek elected office. The campaign succeeded, opening the door for women to participate fully in the country’s political life.
Jackson cast her first ballot in the 1959 general election and later stood as a candidate alongside Birdell Jackson, Ethel Cook-Bodden and Laurel Watler. The group, remembered as the “Phenomenal Four,” was unsuccessful at the polls but made history as some of the first women to contest elected office in the Cayman Islands.
Her public service extended well beyond politics. Jackson became the Cayman Islands’ first civil registrar of marriages and later founded Cayman Weddings in West Bay during the 1980s.
Alongside her husband, Vernon Jackson, who died about a decade ago, she officiated nearly 8,000 wedding ceremonies during their careers.
As a national hero, Jackson will receive an official funeral. The Cayman Islands government said funeral arrangements and details of the national period of mourning will be announced at a later date.
