A Salvation Army Jewel

She’s at the corps day after day, year after year, ready with a smile, welcoming strangers who become family and pitching in wherever there’s a need.

Been working for Jesus a long time
(I’m not tired yet)
—From the gospel song “I’m Not Tired Yet” 

One of Jewel Caquias’ favorite hymns is “I’m Not Tired Yet,” an African American gospel anthem that seems to sum up her life as a longtime soldier at The Salvation Army in Poughkeepsie, New York. 

Jewel, who turned 80 last year, started attending The Salvation Army in 1949 at age 4 and has been serving in one way or another at the church for around 70 years. 

“The Salvation Army is my life, as my kids would say,” Jewel says while sitting in the church chapel. “They were there at a time of need when our family was struggling, and they’ve been with us all through the years. The Salvation Army has been my family.” 

Jewel’s brother, retired Salvation Army Lt. Colonel Abraham Johnson, who is now 86, got the family involved when a friend invited him to church. Major Chelsley Young, the corps officer in Poughkeepsie at the time, took a special interest in the family and made sure everyone ate. Eventually, all seven children in the Johnson family started attending, and this pleased Jewel’s mother, Dorothy, who Jewel called a “Baptist Salvationist.”  

“My mother was happy we were going to church because her Baptist church was out in the country and we couldn’t get there,” she says.  

Jewel, who can name every Salvation Army officer to come through Poughkeepsie since 1949, has fond memories of going to Sunday morning services at the church’s former location on Main Street. The evenings included a congregational meal and youth programming. 

“We were family,” she says. “That’s what kept us close to The Salvation Army. That’s where the love of the Lord and The Salvation Army was implanted in me. It was so family oriented.” 

Living a legacy 

Jewel became a Christian after going to a Salvation Army summer camp as a teenager. Over seven decades, she has served in every role and ministry, including volunteer coordinator, kettles, League of Mercy, teaching youth like Sunbeams, working in the office, and even preaching on occasion. A retired licensed practical nurse, Jewel once worked days and came to the church at night to fill a vacant janitorial role. 

“I’ve worked with the old to the young and the in-between,” she says. “I fill in wherever I’m needed. Whatever needs to be done. That’s my motto. 

“My mother was a giving person and a loving person, and this is what she taught us. She would feed people’s children and watch other people’s children. We all learned from her.”

Jewel Caquias helps set up the food pantry. She always has a smile on her face, especially when she’s serving the community. (Photo/Kevin Diaz)

Jewel, who lives in a senior housing complex across from the church, has been helping in the food pantry and soup kitchen these days, along with the recently concluded Christmas program. When asked why she still shows up five days a week, she replies, “For the love of the Lord.” 

“I love the Lord and this is my ministry,” she says. “I can’t get up there and preach in a pulpit. I can’t address audiences or travel, but right here every day, I consider this my ministry. I just enjoy being here.”

The Soldier’s Covenant signed by all Salvation Army soldiers calls for them to maintain Christian ideals in all relationships, including those in the wider community, and Jewel expressed a great love for her hometown of Poughkeepsie. 

“I love my community,” she says. “I don’t always agree with what’s going on, but our programs, whether our feeding programs or our Christmas program, we’re here to help the community at large. I consider all these people my family. I know them all, and they feel this is a safe place. 

“Those coming for help many times just want to sit and talk and whatnot and I feel blessed that I’m able to be there for them. Some of them push my buttons and I have to walk away, but for the most part they’re my family.” 

A heart for people 

Several years ago, one woman suffering from drug and mental health problems knocked Jewel to the ground. The woman was banned from the corps for a while, but when she returned, she asked for Jewel’s forgiveness. Jewel told her she had forgiven her a long time ago. 

Jewel says she’d like to see The Salvation Army even more involved in the community because some people still don’t know it’s a church that can help people with drugs, alcohol, mental health issues, and other problems. 

“We need to be known for more than feeding people and as a spiritual home for people,” she says. 

Jewel has a special chair in the back row of the chapel close to the entrance door so she can greet people from the community. Back in 1986, she looked up to see a frazzled mother struggling with two young boys entering the chapel. 

“She looked lost, and the Lord told me that she was now my family,” Jewel says. “My immediate family embraced her. I just feel that need to sit there and welcome people each week. I want to be that face that people see that says ‘Welcome’ to the community.”

The Salvation Army gym in Poughkeepsie, New York, is ready for the annual Christmas distribution. If it’s happening at her corps, Jewel Caquias is involved. (Photo/Kevin Diaz)

That mother, Lizette Johnson, is now a social worker and genuinely considers Jewel as her mother, as do many others in Poughkeepsie, though they are not related. 

“She took me under her wing and never let me go,” Lizette says. “This became my home.” In those rare instances when Jewel is not around, she says, “There’s a big missing piece.” 

Preparing for the battle 

Envoy Lydia Mills, who leads the Poughkeepsie congregation, says Jewel is “part of the fabric” and has so much institutional knowledge of the church. Her personable nature makes her the perfect greeter and welcomer.

Envoy Lydia Mills says Jewel “wants to be here every waking day” and the 80-year-old can be found helping in every ministry The Salvation Army does. Her heart lies in welcoming the lost and hurting to worship each Sunday. (Photo/Kevin Diaz)

“She loves being here,” Mills says. “She wants to be here every waking day. Most anyone who has been in this building through the years has interacted with her. She has touched a lot of people.” 

Jewel met her husband, Jose, at the church when he came to get a blood pressure check with a group of men from the Poughkeepsie Adult Rehabilitation Center run by The Salvation Army. The couple married in 1999 and had six children between them, but “many God-given” ones too, Jewel says. Jose died in 2012. 

Today, Jewel spends her time resting up between shifts at The Salvation Army. She doesn’t watch much television, choosing instead to read and keep her mind sharp and her body active so she can serve. She does devotions twice a day and can often be seen going off to the church chapel to pray by herself and with others.

Jewel reads her family Bible in the chapel. She takes her devotional life very seriously and urges others to do so as well. She reads to keep her mind sharp on God’s Word. (Photo/Kevin Diaz)

“I love the Lord, and I strive every day to serve Him and be closer to Him,” she says. “I have to stay busy, and that energy comes from the Lord.” 

Jewel still calls her brother every Sunday, and they reminisce about their start in The Salvation Army. Johnson and his wife, Lt. Colonel Louise Johnson, were awarded the Order of the Founder, the highest honor a Salvationist can receive, in 2020. Lt. Colonel Louise was promoted to Glory in September 2025. 

“It’s sometimes hard to follow in his footsteps and to live up to what he has done,” Jewel says of her brother. “I give that credit to my mother. She was a God-fearing and God-loving woman who loved the Lord. She instilled that in us. He has so many characteristics of my mother.” 

Strong family ties 

Johnson, who is living in Philadelphia and attending The Salvation Army in Roxborough, is proud his sister is still going strong. 

“She’s been very faithful over the years,” he says. 

Johnson’s daughter, Dianne Johnson, calls Jewel a “second mother” and says her aunt is returning the favor for all The Salvation Army poured into her family. 

“Now I think she’s putting it back into the community on behalf of The Salvation Army,” she says. “It’s her way of paying it back or paying it forward. It runs in the family. I’ve always admired her as a person and a woman of God and someone who is loving and attentive to our family.” 

While she may not get around as easily as she used to, Jewel has no plans to step back anytime soon. When asked how much longer she plans to go, she answers, “Until the Lord calls me home.”  

“As the song says, ‘I’m not tired yet.’ I look forward to being here,” Jewel says. “The envoy has to put me out sometimes. I love the Lord, and I love this place. I love The Salvation Army and what it stands for. I’m just glad to be a part of it. 

“He’s done great things in my life. There have been times when I’ve wanted to slack off, and I just remember how He has brought me all the way from childhood up to this point. I just want to serve God in the best way that I know how and I feel this is it.”