Christobel Ariantze Hughes, who was 84 at the time of her demise, lived a fulfilling and inspiring life before her untimely death at the hands of a drunk driver last week.
This is according to tributes shared yesterday at a thanksgiving service, which was organised in her memory at St. Andrews Kirk.
Hundreds that filled the wooden pews of the church building and the dignitaries included President David Granger, First Lady Sandra Granger, Vice-President Khemraj Ramjattan as well as other current and former members of government.
Hughes was eulogised by her children, Nigel Hughes, Elizabeth Hughes and Stuart E.B. Hughes. They all spoke of their mother’s strength and determination as well as her drive to make sure they all succeeded and realised their full potential. She did this, they said, in part by retiring from her career to raise her family full-time. Elizabeth Hughes described her mother as being an “awesome, multi-tasking, multi-talented, multi-dimensional woman.”
The shared sentiment in the speeches delivered was that Christobel Hughes was indeed a phenomenal woman that left an indelible mark on the lives of all she came into contact with. But underneath the pride surrounding all she had achieved and the air of loss that lingered in the cathedral, was the acknowledgement that this was a woman who had been robbed of her life.
Stuart Hughes, in his eulogy, alluded to the fact that although his mother had fought for years against the ailments of her failing body, it was the weakness and irresponsibility of another that ultimately took her life. “The irony of her death was that mom fought hypertension almost her