Blenheim, Gov’t mull ways to honour Miss Nora’s memory
Published:Monday | August 19, 2024 | 12:06 AMAlbert Ferguson/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Tamika Davis, the member of parliament for Hanover Western, says the Government is considering the establishment of an education scholarship to honour the memory of late supercentenarian Nora Louise Miller-Welsh, who died on July 6 at age 110.
Davis, who paid tribute to Miller-Welsh, a community stalwart and devote church-goer in the Blenheim community in Davis’ constituency, had the enviable distinction of being Jamaica’s oldest person at the time of her death.
“I have been in dialogue with Minister Pearnel Charles Jr (the minister of labour and social security), but I don’t know yet whether a monument or a scholarship to honour her will be what we decide on because this is indeed a milestone,” Davis told The Gleaner.
Davis, who has been in consultations with Miller-Welsh’s family, said talks are now taking place between the family of the woman, who was affectionately known as ‘Miss Nora’ and the government, to decide on the most suitable option to honour her life.
Like her immediate family, other residents of Blenheim have warmed to the idea as, while Miller-Welsh had no biological children of her own, the entire community embraced her as their immediate family.
“She was the ‘Duchess of Blenheim’,” said Clover Myrie, a great-grandniece of Miss Nora, who is in full support of Davis’ proposal. Her preference, however, is for an educational scholarship.
Like Myrie, George Campbell, Miller-Welsh’s adopted son, thinks a scholarship would be the ideal way to honour his adopted mother’s legacy, especially since it could benefit generations of children in the years to come.
“What I have always wanted is something in education like a scholarship where students, especially high school students, who cannot afford to pay those fees, can benefit and seamlessly access their secondary education,” said Campbell. “I think that having a scholarship in her name, Mama would love that, knowing that it would help them to come back and develop the community.
“If we could do that, it would be great for this community. It is a poor community, and sometimes some of the students are bright, but their parents cannot send them to school regularly.”
Campbell, who resides in the United States, added, “I think that would help with the improvement of their lives, but more so with the improvement of the community, which is something that Mama would appreciate.”