Draper’s funeral on Thursday

THE FUNERAL service for former government minister Gordon Draper will take place at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-of-Spain on Thursday at 9 am. Draper, 55, died at St Mary’s Hospital in London last Thursday of an aneurysm (sudden bleeding in the layer between the skull and the brain). His body arrived in the country over the weekend, and relatives were busy making funeral arrangements yesterday. While Government officials expected a large turnout of past and present PNM Government ministers at the funeral, they could not say whether Prime Minister Patrick Manning would be present. Manning went to Cuba on Saturday to have a pacemaker insertion and is scheduled to return home tomorrow, 24 hours before the funeral.

In a letter to Draper’s widow Chela, the Prime Minister expressed his condolences and said Draper made an invaluable contribution to TT in terms of initiating public sector reform. Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday also expressed his condolences on Draper’s passing. On Sunday, PNM vice-chairman John Donaldson said the party was willing to assist the family with the funeral arrangements. Saith met with some of Draper’s relatives at his Port-of-Spain office yesterday to discuss matters pertaining to the funeral. Government officials said acting Prime Minister Joan Yuille-Williams was also involved in those discussions. Draper will be buried at Lapeyrouse Cemetery.