It’s hard putting all my granny’s good traits into writing. No matter how hard I try, I can never do justice to what she overcame in her lifetime. I know we grieve for we all lost a great lady. But I know wherever she is now she’s happy and contented with what she left us. She was a mother, a sister and a friend to all of us. I’m sure a lot of persons lives have been touched by my granny. She shared a lot of good memories, especially with me, her grandchild. We shared lots of things together and she was my favourite mentor. I don’t know if I can still be the same person I was now that she’s gone. My granny was a very strong woman. Maybe that’s one quality I got from her. She was also a very good adviser. I personally would seek her advice before I’d go to my mother. We always had talks. She was the kind of person that would think about other people before herself. She never liked asking for help but she was always ready to lend a helping hand to others. She would do everything in her power to help other people. I think in her own way she was able to show us how important we all were to her. We may no longer see her but we’ll always have these special moments we shared with her. She will always have a special part in our hearts. Let’s just be thankful that we knew a special lady like my granny Evelyn. By the way, Granny I thank you for the two beatings you gave me cause I know somewhere along the line the lesson I learned from the two beatings saved me and when you died I cried like a baby, I begged the Lord to take me cause no one else could give me what you gave me but life like everything comes to an end. I pray I go to heaven to see you again - amen

Ave Maria by Bach (Mother's love)

" Dear Evelyn, I often think of you and your untimely passing away from us- just when new and bright vistas were opening up. You live on in my memory for the kind, generous, serene, private, tolerant, person you were, always without judgment, with a happy heart and that joyous half-smile of contentment in yourself. Keep watch and continue to remind us. Your cousin, Havelock

My Mother and truest Friend On Thursday October 11th, 2001, our world was shattered when we lost Mummy. Though we knew the prognosis and that she’d grown tired, it was so difficult to accept that she was gone. It was the greatest pain I’d ever experienced and her loss was unbearable. It was the love and comfort I received from relatives and friends that helped me cope. Mummy had prepared Kevin and me for that day when she would leave and all she asked is that we take care of each other. We have done so. Death of a loved one is never easy, but the death of my mother was the most devastating event in my life. No one knows the pain I’ve felt and the tears I’ve cried. No one knows how great a loss this has been. I can qualify it more: I am the only person to lose this mother. My relationship with Mummy was unique and had nuances that were extremely personal and, in many ways intensely private. There are those moments shared between a mother and daughter, when no one else is a witness, and those become a slide show of memories that are precious yet heartbreaking. There were so many times spent with her that made me realize not only how much she loved me, but how that love was magnified by things I said and did. When Kevin was born, I saw something in the sparkle of Mummy’s eyes that was both familiar and different, a sort of maternal pride that coalesced as she held him in her arms, reminiscent of her own motherhood and yet celebrating my new motherhood. The affirmation of our mother-daughter bond was multiplied infinitesimally by this new dynamic. Just when I thought Mummy could not love me any more, I found that she could through my son, her grandson Kevin. How does someone assess a lifetime of a loved one after that person is gone? I don’t know how to do it justice, but even seven years after losing her, looking at her photograph, emotions pour forth that cause me to lose myself. Composure seems to be such a valued thing in our society, and yet when I analyse it, I know that the breaking down of what was my laissez-faire nature has caused me to change considerably. The “new” me is not just more emotional, but more vulnerable, sullen, at times morose, and infinitely more quiet. I have prayed and prayed and my return to God has been in part because of the loss but also in finding something in myself that needed spirituality. For a while, I believed God had abandoned me, but I don’t feel that this is blasphemous, for Jesus himself screamed as he was nailed to the cross, “Father, why have you abandoned me?” It is in the darkest times, as Theodore Roethke wrote, that one begins to see. Writing this has not been easy. I wrote a few lines and stopped; I wrote a paragraph and stopped again. It hasn’t been a fluid process at all but more one of uneasy reclamation; the capturing of my own spirit and its fledgling hope for a better tomorrow. Still, there is no choice but to look back. I have memories and memorabilia that link Mummy to me and Kevin. Mummy is with me, a real presence in my heart and mind, as well as in Kevin and all those whom she loved. Mummy, may you continue to rest eternally in peace. ONE SWEET DAY I gaze up to the heavens Wondering if you see Those of us you left behind Your beloved family I close my eyes, I see your face I see your beautiful smile Oh mum I would give anything To talk to you a while I'd tell how much I miss you How each day you come to mind and of your faith and hope and love You knew one day I'd find I'd tell how when you left me My world was torn apart Until one day when peace and love Enveloped my heart It was your Saviour Jesus He knew how great my loss He tenderly wiped away my tears And led me to His cross All my hurts and anger Had built up over time He showed me how to let it go For His forgiveness to be mine He showed me how through all the years Your love - unconditional and strong Had paved the way for me to find To Him, I too belong I know now where I'm heading And that Jesus is The Way For you, my dearest mum and I To meet again - One Sweet Day

My memory of Doreen is almost that of an older sister. She was one of my older sister's closest friends , beginning at Bishops High School. Doreen was a fixture in our house, and was accepted as another "sister". I remember her as a good, gentle person, always pleasant, and very kind to me always. Unfortunately our lives did not connect much as adults, but she remained one of my sister's dearest friends, and I know she was also one of my Mother's favorites!

I had the esteem pleasure of meeting Doreen Holder because she was the mother of my best friend. I must say that her personality was one that could be described as radiant and electrifying. Although Dawn was unaware of it . I did have some interesting life lessons that she taught me. One was to be very dedicated towards your child's education and this was evident by her from the times i witnessed her patience with Kevin as he prepared for his Common Entrance. I was also fortunate to have seen her dedication to work when she was a librarian at the University of Guyana how she went the extra mile to help us students in our usual confusion not knowing too well the book nor the Author we needed at times. I was also priviledged to have been at her bed side in her weakest hour; i must say when she was in the Mercy Hospital the first time and even then she was a woman with lots of hope for the future. God took her too soon for us. He knew best, he didnot want her to suffer anymore. She surely has impacted on my life during her journey here on earth. May her soul rest in peace and may we all remember her how we last knew her alive and well full of life and zest.