Former Governor General’s Deputy and former Director General of Tourism for Antigua and Barbuda, Dame Yvonne Maginley, will be laid to rest this afternoon following an official funeral at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
Dame Yvonne, described as an exemplary public servant and citizen who served Antigua and Barbuda well in many different capacities, died on January 27th. Chief of Staff Lionel Max Hurst told OBSERVER that the service is expected to begin at 1pm and will include tributes and a eulogy.
However, attendees are being asked to be seated by at least a quarter to the hour. “We know that the Governor General will read one of the passages from the Bible and the Prime Minister will do the same. There will be six tributes and a eulogy by a member of the family,” Hurst said.
He added that the burial will be at the St. John’s Public Cemetery and Maginley will receive a 21-gun salute before being interred. The former Director General of Tourism has received numerous awards locally and regionally for her work in tourism, including the Caribbean Tourism Organisation’s lifetime achievement award in 2010.
In 2003 she was knighted and thus took on the title of Dame – one of the highest national honours by the State ofAntigua and Barbuda. Upon her passing last month, Prime Minister Gaston Browne stated that Dame Yvonne Maginley represented the best of this country’s ambitions to escape the tragedies of colonialism, underdevelopment and oppressive conditions.