BASSSETERRE, St. Kitts - WARM SENTIMENTS of love and gratitude were felt and profusely expressed at the Celebrations of Love held for Gwendolyn Watty over the Easter Weekend on the attainment of her 100th birthday.
The celebrations consisted of a Celebratory Dinner held at the Marriott Resort for family, long standing friends and neighbours, and a ‘Celebration of Love Service’ held at the ‘Wesley’ Methodist Church on Easter Sunday afternoon to which all friends and well-wishers were invited. Refreshments were served after this service as well.
Members of the family and visiting friends sailed over to Nevis via catamaran and Seabridge on Monday where the festivities continued.
Both events on St. Kitts were attended by His Excellency the Governor General Sir Edmund Lawrence as well as Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Denzil Douglas and some members of his Cabinet, past and present. The former Governor General, Sir Cuthbert Sebastian was also present. But officialdom did not end there.
As a member of the Commonwealth, Mother Watty received congratulatory messages from Her Majesty the Queen. She had also become a Canadian citizen during her sojourn there, so best wishes and congratulations also flowed from top Canadian Government officials.
In the glossy magazine produced for the occasion there were congratulatory messages from Her Majesty the Queen, The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Governor General of Canada, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Queen’s representative in Ontario, the Premier of Ontario, the Mayor of Toronto and the Mayor of the City of Vaughan Council. To these were added glowing tributes from members of her immediate family and very close friends.
The tributes that flowed at the Dinner and Service were testimonies to the life lived by this valiant lady and the loving relationships she engendered throughout her life. They were warm expressions of the love and of the caring and sharing she had meted out during her life being returned to her.
Within her neighbourhood wherever she lived, she was a beacon of light seeking to console, to counsel and nurture all with whom she came into contact. “Our friends became our brothers and sisters,” said son Eustace Warner in one of his tributes. She felt as responsible for raising the children of the community as much as their parents themselves did.
Some, including Hon. Sam Condor, (former Deputy Prime Minister) had reason to quote the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child’ to sum up their experiences with her as a neighbour.
Noted pianist and band player Winston Bailey who featured at both celebratory functions, chose to play as his tribute during the Church Service, “You raise me up”, the powerful and inspirational song popularized in recent times by Josh Groban. This song, he said, expressed the theme coming from most of the confessional tributes during the celebrations.
Centenarian Gwen Watty’s longevity did not come by chance. If one were to sum up the attributes accorded to her in the various tributes given, they would be seen to be identical to the list of qualities scientists and researchers suggest contribute to longevity…
The tributes spoke of her love of family and how she would always put family first; of how socially active she was in her neighbourhood and her Church; of her sense of humour and how she could laugh even at herself; how conscientious she was at her workplace and her career in sewing; of how extroverted she was – sharing whatever she had, and listening to the problems of friends and colleagues- and seeking to uplift them through her nurturing and wise counsel.
Her faith in God and her ability to live by her Christian principles must have contributed to her living a comparatively stress-free life for it is the burden of stress which often cuts us off prematurely.
“Mother had no enemies…that we are aware of,” remarked son Eustace. She looked for the best in all and lived with hope and not with anxiety. “Ás long as the good outweighs the bad, then there is hope,” she was often heard to say.
It was also revealed through the tributes that she had a keen sense of Forgiveness, and refused to be burdened by any mean-spiritedness and hurt aimed at her. “Put God first,” she often told her four children, (one who is with the Almighty (deceased), as she described it)
If Mother Watty has any negative characteristics, none dared to express them on such an occasion, and all would have followed her wise counsel of “forgiving and forgetting”. .. for it was clear that in her case, ‘the good outweighed the bad’.
Indeed all attending the celebrations and those who knew Gwen Watty would have agreed with the sentiments expressed in the heartwarming poem penned for her by one of her three sisters (Elaine) who flew in for the occasion…it began like this:
“A woman of spirit and strength and conviction
A woman who demonstrates goodness and grace
One with the sun in her heart and belief in her mind
One with love that reflects in her eyes – on her face
That’s my sister Gwen
In a written response to all the love and gratitude shown to her, the beloved Centenarian said:
“Thank you. The expression ‘Give me my flowers while I’m alive’ has really come true for me. God has blessed me in numerous ways and I thank Him every day for all my blessings….I feel deeply honoured that you hold me in such high esteem that you made it possible to be with me at this time. Being able to celebrate and sing praises to my God has made this day extremely special. Thank you all very much. Love and God’s blessings.”
The celebratory events were also spiced with tributes in song and music – The Winston Bailey Duo out of Antigua, Steelband renditions by Mellie Hewlett, solos by Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd and Dulcie Richardson, saxophone solo by Alex Condell, drumming by Rhoyd Phipps and the Okolo Tegramantine drummers, the Hope Chapel Choir and the Men’s Commission Choir.
The celebrations were organised by the children of Mother Watty, Eustace (Warner), Venetta (Laws) and Lylith (Perkins) and they were highly commended for ensuring that Mother Watty ‘got her flowers while she was alive’ in such a classy way as was befitting of this celebrant - the lady who was described as “a woman whose impact cannot be denied” and as “one who had made our Federation a better place.”
Love and God’s blessings to you, too, Mother Watty!
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