PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The wife of former president Arthur NR Robinson will be buried in Tobago ?at a date to be announced? the Trinidad and Tobago government said Monday.

It said that funeral service for Patricia Robinson, 79, who died at her residence last week, will take place on Thursday.

The widely respected economist had been battling with Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes for several years.

The government statement said that the family ?has requested that no flowers be taken to the church, and has indicated that donations may be made to the Alzheimer?s Association and Kids In Need of Direction (KIND).?

Mrs. Robinson, who will be buried in Tobago ?at a later date to be announced?, served as a senior economist in the ministry of finance, as well as on the board of directors at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago.

She was also honoured with a special award for her contribution to both the establishment of the Institute of Banking and the Development of Banking in Trinidad and Tobago in November 1989.

President George Maxwell Richards, in a statement, said he and his wife were saddened by the death and described the former first lady as ?an outstanding daughter of the soil?.

?Patricia Robinson was a brilliant economist who, as a senior public servant, faithfully served this nation, making an indelible contribution to the development of the banking and financial sectors, inter alia, in Trinidad and Tobago, before assuming her role as First Lady from 1997 to 2003. Her influence, as an economist, in areas such as double taxation, was felt throughout the region. The nation owes her a debt of gratitude,” he said.

Former Central bank governor Winston Dookeran praised Robinson’s work as an economist.

“I worked with her … and I always admired her for her forthrightness and her professionalism. She was a great asset to the economic steam when the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) came to government and there again I saw Patricia’s undying commitment to Trinidad and Tobago for which we must acknowledge her.

“I would like to take the opportunity to extend our deepest sympathy to Mr ANR Robinson and his children on what clearly is the end of an era of a generation of economists that Trinidad and Tobago has produced,? he added.

Mrs. Robinson is survived by her 82-year-old husband and two children.