PHOTOS: Scores of mourners attend official farewell for Eileene Parsons
The late Eileene Lucia Parsons, OBE, was laid to rest yesterday following an official funeral service held at the Multi-purpose Sports Complex in Road Town.
The ceremony drew scores of attendees, including Premier Dr Natalio Wheatley, members of the House of Assembly, former legislators, officials from the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College (HLSCC), and members of the wider public.
The funeral began with a formal procession from the House of Assembly to the sports complex, where a ceremonial carriage carried Parsons’s casket to the service. Flags at government buildings across the territory were flown at half-mast in her honour.
The service featured musical selections, scripture readings, and tributes from various government officials and community leaders. Parsons was remembered for her trailblazing role in politics, her cultural advocacy, and her decades of public service.
Parsons, who passed away on June 22 at the age of 94, was the first woman to serve as Deputy Chief Minister in the Virgin Islands. She also held roles as Minister for Health, Education and Welfare; Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly; and was a founding member of the Virgin Islands Party.
She was also a cultural advocate and co-founder of the BVI Heritage Dancers. Parsons played a key role in the establishment of HLSCC and was later appointed Cultural Director at the institution. In 2013, she was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her contributions to public service and culture.
Premier Wheatley, in previous remarks, described her as “a cultural icon and a voice of the people who inspired generations.” Other lawmakers also paid tribute to her legacy during a recent sitting of the House of Assembly, hailing her as a patriot, educator, and fierce advocate for Virgin Islands identity.
Following the service, Parsons was laid to rest at the Road Town Methodist Church cemetery.
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Speaker looking lovely as usual
rip parsons
Next to the Premier, stood many years- cumulative years, of service to this country in various and myriad forms
Yet, in a few decades, many of those faces, will be no more!
The lessons Mrs. Parsons, with her many years of service has shown, is that regardless of the many talents she possessed, her time came, to exit the world scene!
And this is the example that must be taught to the younger generations, “that they may cherish these legacies”!