Written by Shirley Thomas
A Thanksgiving service for the life of the late Carlotta Blair, Senior Mistress of Grove Primary School, a mother of two and a Grade 4 teacher, who collapsed and died two Fridays ago while on a teachers’ march in celebration of World Teachers’ Day 2013, was held on Friday at the school, followed by another at the Ebenezer Gospel Hall on Front Road, West Ruimveldt, Georgetown.Her body was later interred at the Le Repentir Cemetery.

Before the service started, the immaculate white coffin bearing Ms. Blair’s body shrouded in a pretty dress was open for viewing from noon, and hundreds of tearful friends and loved ones filed past the coffin.

The District Education Officer and representatives of the Guyana Teachers’ Union, and other mourners and sympathizers from other schools along the East Bank Demerara joined the bereaved family members and the school’s population in paying their last respects to a woman described as a wonderful, dedicated and compassionate person. Other schools in that part of the region were also allowed to dismiss classes at midday in order to facilitate teachers and students who were desirous of attending Ms Blair’s funeral.

Her relatives can take consolation in the numerous glowing tributes delivered by Blair’s Head Mistress, Ms. Dawne English, and other teachers and friends; as well as those tributes delivered in song and inspirational words of encouragement by former students, which all spoke to the golden personality Ms Blair had been, and about how she made a positive impact on all those whose lives she had touched in her sojourn on this earthly plain.

Ms Blair was remembered as a kind, loving and caring person, who made it incumbent upon herself to give love to others around her. She had shared a great relationship not only with her two sons and grand-daughter, about whom she spoke endlessly, but with teachers at school as well.

In a moment of great anguish, her colleague, Ms. Angela Balkaran, recalled sharing great moments with Ms Carlotta Blair. “She was one you could sit and talk with; one upon whom you could depend for good advice; one who could put that spring back into your step, even when you were feeling down,” Ms. Balkaran sobbed, breaking down throughout her tribute.

With two colleague teachers to comfort and hold her up throughout her tribute, Ms Balkaran continued: “What it means losing her some will not know. Now we will miss hearing her voice. We will miss her warm smile and generous nature. I know her family is going through pain and great sadness. I hope that it will ease with time.
Miss Carlotta Blair was a good person, whose memory will live in my heart forever,” Balkaran concluded.

A former Grade 9 pupil told of the lasting impression Ms. Blair has made on his mind; and District Education Officer (Nursery) Ms. Chittrawattie Basdeo, currently acting Regional Education Officer in absence of the REO, expressed profound condolences to Ms Blair’s loved ones on behalf of the Education Ministry. She added that it is always a sad occasion when a teacher is lost, since teachers mould the minds of the nation; have a great impact on children, who spend more hours at school than in the home; and their interaction with parents have a profound and lasting impact on the personality of the child.

On the day of her demise, the 50-year-old Carlotta Blair had been among her teaching colleagues and those from several other schools on the East Bank Demerara, marching from Ali & Sons Enterprise at Grove Public Road en route to the Diamond Secondary School for a grand rally with Education Ministry officials in observance of World Teachers’ Day.

After some time marching in the sweltering heat of the sun, Ms. Blair, who reportedly had a heart condition, told another teacher she did think she could make it to the ground. Under great pain and discomfort, she reportedly came off the march and sat for a brief moment at the M&M Food Court at the junction of Grove Public Road and Diamond New Scheme, where witnesses recalled she began bleeding from the nose. Moments later, she collapsed and was rushed to the nearby Diamond Regional Hospital, where doctors at that institution pronounced her dead on arrival. Ms Blair had covered just about one third of the distance to the ground where the rally was being held.

Relatives of the deceased are deeply appreciative of the support received from the Guyana Teachers’ Union, which, during their period of deep grief and emotional vulnerability, continued to rally around them.

“Not only have they sympathized, but they’ve also empathized, and done this in tangible ways,” one bereaved family member said.

Last Wednesday night, the Guyana Teachers Union held a wake at the Grove Primary School to facilitate students, teachers and friends of Carlotta Blair living in that part of the region who would have found it difficult to travel to Blair’s home and back during the night.

The family also held wakes at the home of the deceased at 13 Walker Terrace, West Ruimveldt on other nights leading up to the time of burial.

The late Carlotta Blair leaves to mourn immediate family members, including Winston Andries, her two sons Nedrie and Nicardo Wharton, and several other relatives and friends.