By the time Denise Johnston stepped through the gates of The Queen’s School, she had already lived a lifetime of resilience. A former Miss Festival Queen, Miss Spanish Town, and Miss St Catherine, Denise’s story is not just one of accolades and ambition—it’s a testament to survival, sisterhood, and the quiet power of faith.
In an interview on Sheena Power Talk with Sheena Lyn Hanson, Johnston opened up about her painful past and the healing power of Jesus.
Born into a Jamaica gripped by political unrest, Johnston’s childhood was shaped by the fear and scarcity of the 1980s election era. “We packed everything into barrels, not knowing when we’d have to run,” she recalls. “Shops were empty; everything was rationed. We grew up with lack.”
But even amid hardship, Johnston excelled. After attending Friendship Primary, she passed her Common Entrance exams and earned a place at The Queen’s School. Later, she pursued higher education at the University of Technology and the University of the West Indies, building a career that spanned respected institutions like the National Commercial Bank (NCB), NCB Capital Markets, and NEM Insurance. “I’ve had good jobs,” she stated, “but pain was always part of the journey.”
That pain began with a traumatic event when her mother was shot. Though she survived, the family was left homeless. Yet, as Johnston puts it, “Out of evil came forth good.” The tragedy led to them relocating to a middle-income community where life improved. “We had a gas stove, a refrigerator. No more wood fires or buying ice. I got bougie,” she laughs, remembering the joy of comfort.
But just eight months later, Johnston’s world shattered again. Her elder sister Pamela, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty. Pamela had joined the force to lift her family out of poverty.
“She was loving, unselfish, always serving,” Johnston recalled about her sister. “She taught at my primary school, won the Spirit of HEART trophy, and was Miss Congeniality. She was our glue.”
On December 7, 1987, Pamela boarded a bus to work. It was hijacked by gunmen in Central Village, who carried out a brutal robbery and assault. Johnston shared the details with courage and reverence, honouring her sister’s memory while confronting the horror.
“Pam was pregnant. She tried to tell them. They turned the gun on her and shot out her womb. They did everything to her.”
A man on the bus—Johnston’s friend’s father (something she later learnt)—tried to intervene. “He begged for her life. He said, ‘This is somebody’s daughter.’ They silenced him with a gunshot to the mouth. He died a hero. His eight-year-old daughter watched it all.”
Johnston was just 14. When she got the news, she felt like she was in a trance. She recalled fainting at the funeral. She said she couldn’t feel.
Reminiscing on her sister, Johnston shared that Pamela was more than a provider. She was the heartbeat of the family. “Miss Jovial, Miss Personality, Miss Christmas. She made things happen. She was 16 days away from her wedding.”
For decades, Johnston carried the trauma in silence. “Every decade, something new came up.” So many things happened after her sister’s death. The sole survivor of her sister’s three killers was paroled despite her objections to pardon. She then decided she didn’t want to live in Jamaica anymore and eventually migrated.
In 2019, after surrendering her life to the Lord, He ‘called her back to her homeland with the instructions to go to Spanish Town’.
She returned to Jamaica and attended The Queen’s School Founders Day event. A friend introduced her to a retired police officer who had worked on Pamela’s case. “She revealed things I never knew. I broke [down]. Totally broke [down],” she shared with Lyn Hanson, adding that up until then she didn’t know the full details surrounding her sister’s death.
Then came a divine encounter. Johnston walked into a Bible study at a church, and the room was arranged exactly as God had shown her in a vision. At the end of the session, the teacher said, “I’m a counsellor, and I’m taking new patients.” It was the beginning of true healing, she shared, as since the incident, she had never received counselling.
Today, Johnston is not just surviving—she’s thriving. Her story is one of transformation, of finding light in the darkest places. She honours her sister’s legacy by speaking truth, seeking justice, and embracing faith. “If it wasn’t for God and the Holy Spirit,” she says, “I wouldn’t be here today.”
Johnston obeyed the promptings of the Lord to start a non-profit, even giving it the name ‘Pamela Sunrise’.
“It is in honour of my sister Pamela Johnston. And it is to benefit persons who’ve been affected by gun violence.”
Her life has also come full circle, as she saw a TikTok video where the daughter of one of the murderers was sharing how he set a generational curse on the family, and she voiced the opinion that she doubted Pamela’s family could ever forgive her. Johnston reached out to her, assuring her that she meant no harm to her, and even invited her to come on the journey (Christian) with her.
For those who suffered the same or even more than she did, Johnston offered these words: “First, get counselling, and two, believe the Word of God to be true. If it is that you’ve lost a parent, He says, “I am father to the fatherless.” A sibling, the same thing. Friend to the friendless, right? And bigger than that, by His stripes, we were healed. He’s a healer. You can trust Him. You can trust that the Word of God is true.”
Photo source: Denise Facebook
