“I Love It, Love It, Love It” Jenny Lovell Passes Away  

She was known for her exceptional musical skills, her transformative wisdom and her captivating personality. Jennifer Lovell or “Jenny Love it Lovell”, as she was affectionately known, has passed away. Reports are that Lovell experienced a bad fall on Thursday while home alone. Lovell was found and transported to the hospital by a couple of her colleagues who grew concerned after she stopped responding to their calls and messages. After being released from the hospital, Lovell spent the night at the home of one of her friends who also works as a nurse. She passed away early this morning in the care of that friend. Lovell was a true Belizean icon. News Five’s Paul Lopez filed the following report.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Belize has lost a beloved icon. Jenniffer “Jenny Love It” Lovell passed away in the company of a friend today in Belmopan. Throughout her lifetime, Lovell impacted the lives of many with her effervescent personality, musical talent, and wisdom as a mental therapist.  Lovell received the nickname “Jenny Love It” as a judge on Channel Five’s Tuesday night entertainment shows, such as KTV, KTV the Remix, and Duets. Live Show Host, William Neal, reflected on his memories of her, with tears in his eyes.

 

William Neal, TV Host

“What you saw on television was definitely not a facade. She had the incredible talent, not just of singing in terms of talent, she also had the talent to make you listen and to make you feel seen. When she said love it, love it, love it, that was what she was all about. She was a person who believed that love would conquer all and you had to love people through everything. A year ago when my mom passed and stuff she insisted that I come see her. First she gave me some money and I said Jenny it is ok. She said, no I want you to have this money. Secondly, she took me through grieve counselling for more than two hours. I really don’t know what Tuesday night will be like when I am on the stage and look down and there is no Jenny there. I know in a world where people can be really mean, she was perhaps meme more than anybody else. That didn’t deter her. She showed up. I don’t know what Tuesday nights will be without her but Jenny showed us that in a cruel world that sometimes kindness is what you remember and need.”

 

For more than a decade, Lovell led a segment on Open Your Eyes Morning Show called “Bruck It Down with Jenny”. As a trained psychiatrist, she imparted invaluable knowledge to viewers on numerous mental health topics. Former Open Your Eyes Host and now Chief Executive Officer at Channel Five, Marleni Cuellar spoke about Lovell’s irreplaceable character.

 

Marleni Cuellar, C.E.O. Channel Five

“She partnered with us willingly, came and answered questions from viewers, mental health questions, coping with life, building self esteem kind of that mental care that people needed. She did so because she was an advocate for people to have better mental health.”

 

 

 

Paul Lopez

“Why was it important to have Jenny remain a staple on KTV the Remix?”

 

Marleni Cuellar

“Because you can’t replace a Jenny. She was an icon, rightly earned. She is passionate about helping to develop talent in the country, especially musical talent. What a lot of people don’t know is that behind the scenes she mentored some of the singers. She worked with us at Summer Fest to get some of them ready for the stage. If she saw someone with talent, she wanted to help them make it better and help to make them shine.”

 

Paul Lopez

“What do you think when you think about the future of KTV without Jenny there?”

 

 

 

 

Marleni Cuellar

“You know, all players in KTV is essential, from the people brave enough to go on stage, to the judges who are brave enough to face the public and audience. I suppose, as they say, the show must go on, but it will never be the same.”

 

 

 

Inside Price Barracks, where all the buildings are designed and painted to reflect discipline and dullness, Jenny Lovell’s office inside the BDF’s Wellness Center was a stark contrast. It emanated peace, wellness and her vibrant personality. She had been volunteering as a mental therapist for the Belize Defense Force for the last decade. She was scheduled to be at Price Barracks this morning to conclude a self-care training she led for more than a dozen soldiers. Major Megan Aspinal is the Head of the BDF Wellness Center.

 

 

Major Megan Aspinal, Head of BDF Wellness Center

“Today was the culmination of the training where the participants would have been given their certificates and have a little social with Ms. Jenny and her team that came with four students who are currently pursuing their master’s degree in counseling at U.W.I. She had asked me if they can do their practicum and internship here. Most of us are still in shock because the last we saw Ms. Jenny Tuesday when she said to us she was not feeling well but the young ladies from U.W.I. can continue the training. Then we hear today she passed. We are still in disbelief. This office is all Ms. Jenny. This office was not pink. It was cream as the other office. And, one day she is like I need this office to have life. The soldiers need to understand that coming to counselling you can’t see colors that are depressing as well, you need to be vibrant. So, she is like, I want cotton candy pink. She told the young men that work with us, so she made it happen and she brought all her décor, her pink flowers, everything to match with and one of the soldiers who paint painted the picture on the wall in pink supporting what she wanted.”

 

Lovell was employed as Director of the Department of Human Service when she returned to Belize as a retired U.S Navy Lieutenant in the late nineties. She was then appointed as the first director of the Community Rehabilitation Department within the ministry. Chief Executive Officer within the Ministry of Human Development, Adele Catzim, was the CEO in the ministry at the time. Catzim and Lovell developed a bond that led to them becoming best friends.

 

 

 

Adele Catzim, C.E.O., Ministry of Human Development

“Jenny was an icon. She has such a wonderful personality. She is such a public persona, but Jenny was also a very private person. She had a small circle of friends that she was very close to and so we are the ones that would know what was really on her mind about a lot of things. She was a very spiritual person, so we clicked and talked about spirituality and personal development all the time. Her life was about Belize and development. She was a super volunteer at the Belize Defense Force, a super volunteer at one of the rehabilitation centers called Hedges. She volunteered; she was working with our ministry because she was a master trainer, currently for our community and parent empowerment program. Of course she was a lover of the arts. She contributed so much to the arts through KTV and through her beautiful voice and singing and all of that.”

 

Jenny Lovell’s musical career was just as illustrious as her contributions to mental health wellness. In the early seventies Lovell was a member of The Mission Singers, a musical group that was created by music extraordinaire Francis Reneau. Karen Vernon worked alongside Lovell in the arts.

 

Karen Vernon, Colleague

“I knew her through my work with the Francis Reneau project over the years. I worked with her as a judge here at KTV. A lot of people know her through KTV and not beyond that. But Lovell was a singer for Mass in Blues. That was in the late 1960’s, early seventies. They toured the U.S in 1971 and produced the Mass in Blues album of which Jenny was a soloist on many of the songs in that album.”

 

 

 

One of the timeless solos on that album by Jenny Lovell is entitled Help Me Accept. We also heard from Francis Reneau who revealed that he has begun writing a song dedicated to Lovell.

 

 

 

 

Francis Reneau, Musician

“What I was attracted to was the quality of her voice. There was a purity of sound and her understanding of music even though she may not have studied music in the way I studied music was quite natural and it was actually astounding that she could turn music into something that was communicative and expressive and I think that was what all musicians looked for in a great singer. I didn’t believe it at first, I saw these things coming and my phone started ringing and ringing and I said what is going on and I thought I better just checked and I said this cant be true. I thought I would wait a little while to see if it was real or not. I texted her sister and she confirmed that it was true. I am writing something for her memory as well and I hope it gets performed at some point.”

 

Reporting for News Five I am Paul Lopez.