PM Douglas to attend Official Funeral of former Montserrat chief minister
 |
|
Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force Offcers carry the flay-drapped casket with the mortal remains of the late Chief Minister of Montserrat, Dr. the Hon. John Osborne shortly after it arrived from Antigua on the MV Carib Queen (photo courtesy of NewsLink) |
ST. KITTS, JANUARY 20TH 2011 (CUOPM) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas will represent the twin-island Federation at the Official Funeral of the former Chief Minister of Montserrat, the late Dr. the Hon. John Osborne.
Dr. Douglas, also the current Chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), will attend the Official Funeral and Thanksgiving Service on Friday afternoon at the Montserrat Cultural Centre, Little Bay at two ‘o’ clock. The Service will be preceded with the body lying in state at the Cultural Centre from 8 am to 12 noon.
The Service will be presided over by the Anguilla-based Bishop of the North-Eastern Caribbean and Aruba, the Right Reverend Errol Brooks.
Also attending the Service are Prime Minister Hon. Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda; Chief Minister of Anguilla, Hon. Hubert Hughes and former Chief Minister Mr. Osbourne Flemming; Barbados’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sen. the Hon. Maxine McClean; British Virgin Islands Minister of Communications and Works, Hon. Julian Fraser; Acting Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Her Excellency Lolita Applewhaite; Her Excellency June Soomer of St. Lucia; and former Deputy Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sir Louis Straker and Lady Linda Straker.
The body of former Montserrat Chief Minister Osborne will be interred on Saturday morning following a private church and graveside funeral service at the St. Peter’s Anglican Church. Interment in the St. Peters Parish Church Cemetery
The MV Carib Queen arrived with the body of Montserrat’s longest serving leader of government, Dr. John A. Osborne last Sunday evening.
Accompanied by a 16-man contingent from the Antigua Defence Force (ADF), the body of the former chief minister arrived at 7:15pm at Little Bay as hundreds of residents watched. Family members, Chief Minister Hon. Reuben Meade and Governor Peter Waterworth were on hand to join the procession behind the Royal Montserrat Defence Force (RMDF) and the Royal Montserrat Police Force (RMPF).
The family chose to bring the body home by sea as Dr. Osborne was a boat builder and shipper and loved being on and near the ocean.