Fifty-nine-year-old Mavis Henry better known as ‘Mayo’ was a woman literally in love with her job which saw her working more with the dead than the living.
Henry did not have a job that was normally associated with a woman but as the chief mortuary technician at the Lyken Funeral Home for the last 15 years she has dressed more dead persons than anyone could count including former President Janet Jagan earlier this year.
So it was a shock to the funeral home, at which she worked for more than 23 years, when she died last Friday morning from what is believed to be a liver ailment.
Dawn Stewart-Lyken, wife of the funeral home’s owner Gordon Lyken, said Henry was at work last Thursday when she appeared to be ill and she took her to the hospital. She died the following day.
Yesterday when Stabroek News visited the funeral home on Norton Street numerous black flags were being flown and there was a sombre mood among staff members.
“She was loyal; she was protective of other staff members. She was the mother, sister, she was everything to them Stewart-Lyken said yesterday.
She described the woman as the “master dresser of the dead.”
“She dressed Mrs Janet Jagan, and she reconstructed so many faces… just like the family wanted,” the woman told Stabroek News as she wept. She said Henry was the one who had reattached businessman Farouk Kalamadeen’s head to his body in any attempt to help his family with a proper burial. Stewart-Lyken said Henry was the one that pathologist Dr Nehaul Singh requested when he was going to certain crime scenes. She was the only woman among the men who travelled to Lindo Creek to remove the remains of the eight miners. She also travelled to Bartica and Lusignan to assist in the removal of bodies of persons who were slaughtered in the massacres.
“She reconstructed the faces of many of the persons who died at Bartica just so the family could have a proper viewing of the body,” she said.
According to Stewart-Lyken, Henry was trained on the job by certified morticians whom they brought from overseas and she later became certified.
“She was just good at her job; you know how many burn victims she worked with… She just wanted to help the families so that they could have a proper viewing of their loved ones’ bodies. She worked tirelessly and it was always important to her what the customers think. She was never satisfied until they were happy with her work.”
She said Henry always made sure everything was in order she controlled the fridge and always ensured that it was at the right temperature to preserve the bodies stored.
“She was a real good person, she was just a good person and she was very honest. We could count on her at anytime; she personally cared about what she did.”
Stewart-Lyken said Henry would be greatly missed at the funeral home not just because she was an excellent worker but also because she was a good person and the other employees looked up to her.
Henry was married to Compton Henry. She did not have children.
