Good old Dawn is laid to rest

Parliamentarians past and present on all sides of the political divide, the villagers of Speyside, Plymouth and Charlotteville, members of the Tobago House of Assembly, Trinidadians, the staff of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago as well as Clerks of the Senate from other Caribbean Parliaments turned out yesterday to say goodbye to the late Dawn Dolly, a good worker and a unique person. The Crown Point Airport since early  morning had become a “sea of black and white” as people flew in. The THA helped in providing transport to the St Andrews Church in Bacolet, Scarborough. Police had to control the heavy flow of  traffic. Those who spoke at the service,  including Leader of Government Business, Ken Valley, THA Chief Secretary Orville London and Opposition Senator Wade Mark, agreed that she was a very caring, helpful, professional and meticulous person.

Jason Elcock who spoke on behalf of the Parliament noted that Dolly was a hard tasker, but a caring boss. He recalled some “Dollyisms.” It wasn’t enough to say “Morning,” he recalled. Dolly insisted that the staff never left out the descriptive word — “Good.” And whenever you said  “Tomorrow,” she would finish with “God’s willing” because, she would explain, “tomorrow is not  promised to you.” “She was indeed a true professional. Pleasant, her charm, her deportment, her eloquence made her a force to be reckoned with, noted her long time friend Phyllis Armstrong during the reading of the eulogy. “She often referred to herself as the three Bs; black, bright and beautiful. Dawn was  a good counsellor, advisor, a true friend, a loving daughter, a devoted sister and a caring, concerned mother to her neice Nikkelle, who loved and admired and respected her aunty.” Dolly, who was immaculately dressed in a white embroidered gown, looked like the “same beautiful Dawn” in death as she did in life.

“God, she looked good!” one member of the congregation said, before breaking down. Those who broke down as the casket was being taken out of the church included the Parliamentary Clerk of the Turks and Caicos Islands who stayed at Dolly’s home on a recent visit to Trinidad, the Parliamentary Clerk of St Vincent and Dolly’s brothers who live overseas, but who were very close to her, speaking with her on a weekly basis on the phone. Dolly’s former classmates from Bishops Tobago came out as well as the Anglican community. Anglican Bishop  Calvin Bess flew over to say the mass. Five priests shared the role of  celebrant. From about 12.30 pm all the seats in the church, which has two levels (upstairs and  downstairs), were taken, with the exception of  the reserved seats for the MPs and other special guests. The two tents set up outside the church were packed by 1 pm.  Beyond that, the streets were soon filled by 2 pm when the service began. Among those who attended were former Speaker Nizam Mohammed, former MPs Pamela Nicholson, Desmond Allum, Mervyn Assam, Carol Cuffie Dowlat (who attended Teachers Training College with Dolly) and Agnes Williams.

Also attending were Sadiq and Nizam Baksh, Roy Augustus, Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan, Adesh Nanan, Camille Robinson-Regis, Keith Rowley, Joan Yuille-Williams, Hazel Manning, Independent Senators Ken Ramchand, Mary King, Eastlyn McKenzie, THA Chief  Orville London, Hochoy Charles as well as  former Clerk of the House, Norma Cox, and Clerk of the House, Jacqui Sampson. There was a full turn out of  Parliament staff from all departments — the kitchen, the library, the Hansard — as well as staff from TSTT where Dolly’s brother, Kirk works. President George Maxwell Richards and Mrs Richards expressed their condolensces via a letter which was read by Kirk, who had these words of consolation: “Weeping shall endure during the night but joy cometh in the morning. I know the morning will take years, but I’m looking forward to that day.  Let the healing begin.” In keeping with the deceased’s charitable nature the family announced that the funeral collection would be equally shared between the Grenada Relief Fund and the restoration of the Plymouth Anglican Church. Dawn was laid to rest at the Plymouth Anglican Cemetery.