Editor's note: This story was originally published in the Belleville News-Democrat.
The beloved owner of a popular metro-east restaurant, My Just Desserts, has died from injuries she received in a head-on collision in Jamaica Saturday.
Yvonne Campbell, 44, was on vacation when the accident happened in Hanover, Jamaica. Campbell was among seven people in a tourist bus that collided head-on with a truck on the Orange Bay Road, according to an article in the Jamaican Observer, a local newspaper and website.
The account says eight passengers were taken to the hospital with severe injuries. Six of the injured were tourists.
Campbell’s death was announced Wednesday on the Facebook page for her popular restaurant, My Just Desserts in Alton.
“Anyone that knew her, loved her and knew how much of a bright light she brought to every room she entered,” the Facebook post states. “No one will ever bake a pie, cobbler, or cake as good as her. Please give us room for grievance at this time. We will be closed until further notice and will let everyone know when we will be back. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers, this is a devastation to all. “
The public outpouring over her death was immediate. On the Facebook post alone, there were nearly 700 comments, and the post was shared 659 times.
Campbell started working at My Just Desserts as a child.
“She’s been working there since she was 14. The owner retired and she gifted the store to her,” Alton Mayor David Goins said.
Goins had known Campbell since she was a child, and his wife is a close friend.
Goins said the last time he saw Campbell was during a visit to his office about a week ago. The meeting was supposed to be this week, but she got the dates confused. She brought cookies for the mayor, his secretary and his chief of staff. The mayor said he is glad for the mix-up.
“In retrospect, that was our opportunity to say goodbye because we didn’t know we were seeing each other for the last time,” the mayor said.
He called Campbell’s death a “huge and tragic loss” for the community.
“She willingly gave of her talent, time and treasure to the community in so many ways. We are going to really miss her,” Goins said.
He said Campbell “engaged with her customers. She wasn’t just in the back. She would come out and chit chat with her customers. She wanted to make sure everything was alright with the food.”
He said she had passion for what she was doing, and she touched so many people’s lives with her smile and hugs.
“She meant so much to so many people,” he said.
In an interview before Campbell’s death was announced, Lexi Groves, a restaurant employee and friend, described Campbell as the ``best kind of person,” who was great to work for.
“ She is a big believer in hugs and smiles, and she never let her bad day ruin anybody else’s day,” Grove said. “She was always there to put a smile on everyone else’s face.
“My Just Desserts wouldn’t be what it is today without her ownership. People come in here specifically to see Yvonne and get a hug. She is a bright light in our community, “Groves said.
Groves, who has been speaking on behalf of Campbell’s family, said in a text after Campbell’s death was announced that she was too distraught to talk on the phone.
Family and friends had started a Go Fund Me account to help pay for her medical expenses before her death, including getting her back to the United States for treatment.
Groves stated in her text “The Go Fund Me (account) is still raising money for all of the expenses her family will need.”
She stated the business will be closed temporarily now to give the staff and family time to grieve.
“We are all devastated. This is an incredible loss for many people,” Groves wrote.
Carolyn P. Smith is a reporter with the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
