Jamaican missionary killed in bus accident in Ghana
Published:Monday | April 21, 2025 | 12:14 AMDave Rodney/Gleaner Writer
Heather Dillon, 67, a Jamaican missionary on a tour of duty in Ghana, was among three people killed in a bus accident in rural Ghana last week.
Dillon, who is from Ocho Rios in St Ann, had been doing missionary work in Ghana as a training facilitator since last October. She was travelling from the city of Tamale to Kumasi when the private bus with 15 passengers was overtaking other vehicles on a narrow road and crashed. Two other missionaries from Sierra Leone and Ghana also died in the accident.
Dillon worked for Operation Mobilization (OM), a global Christian organisation committed to sharing the gospel and serving communities in need worldwide. She had previously worked for several years for the same organisation in South Africa. In Jamaica, she attended the Ocho Rios Primary School, St Hilda’s Diocesan Hilgh School, and The University of the West Indies. After graduation, she taught at the Mico University College and later worked at HEART as an executive.
“Heather’s greatest desire was to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in Africa”, Dawn Batts, country director for Jamaica, told The Gleaner. “She poured her heart into serving women, encouraging them in their faith and helping them to experience the love of Christ in tangible ways”, Batts added, speaking from Kingston.
“We are shattered by this unspeakable tragedy, and our beloved Heather Dillon, a missionary of distinction, will be greatly missed,” Ambassador Paul Robotham, chairman of OM Jamaica and board member of OM Caribbean, said in expressing deep sympathy to Heather’s colleagues and loved ones.
Dillon’s unexpected passing has devastated the OM family across the globe, as well as her own family and countless others who were impacted by her ministry.